When I'm Alone
by Lothlome
Summary: InuYasha chose to protect Kikyo, and Kagome chose to remain with him, but after a dangerous encounter with the priestess both parties begin to rethink their decisions.InuKag and maybe some MirSan.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: Okay, I don't usually write InuYasha fics seeing as I'm more comfortable writingin the Harry Potter and LOTRfandoms, but I was watching the show and InuYasha really pissed me off with the whole "I can't choose between Kikyo and Kagome" thing, and this idea popped into my head. Hope you enjoy it, and constructive critism is appreciated. Happy Reading!Lothlome**

Chapter 1

Kagome poked at the embers of the fire with a stick, and tried to her best to bring the dwindling fire back to life with some fresh wood. She sighed, and glanced over at the arguing InuYasha and Miroku as she struggled with the fire. Miroku was trying his best to explain to InuYasha that it was in everyone's best interests to rest another day in the village before running off to look for more jewel shards, InuYasha, of course, would not hear anything of it, as usual, he wanted to go off right away. Personally, Kagome agreed with Miroku. She was still trying to recuperate from their last journey, and she knew she could do with some more rest. She was sure Sango felt the same way, seeing as she had been wounded during their battle with that group of bandits they had encountered as they made the journey home.

She decided not to voice her opinion though, seeing as InuYasha was in a short enough temper as it was, and she was really not in the mood to get into an argument with him. He always got defensive and irritated when Miroku tried to take the lead in the group, and she was sure if she came to Miroku's aid in this argument InuYasha would take it the wrong way.

"I brought some more firewood, Kagome," Shippo said, as he put a small stack next to her knees.

"Thanks Shippo," she said smiling. Shippo took a glance over at the still arguing InuYasha and Miroku and rolled his eyes.

"Are they still fighting?" he said boredly. "At this point, I wish Miroku would just let InuYasha win so we didn't have to listen to this anymore."

"I know what you mean," Kagome sighed as she piled wood onto the fire.

"Fine, InuYasha, since I cannot convince you, why don't we ask the others what they think?" Miroku said calmly, folding his hands in his lap. "Kagome? Sango? Shippo? What would you prefer?" The other three exchanged wary looks. InuYasha looked like he would rip their heads off with his bare hands if they even dared to agree with Miroku.

"Well, if it comes right down to it, maybe we should just stay an extra day," Sango said reasonably. "We could all use a rest after being gone for so long, even you InuYasha." Miroku looked over at his opponent triumphantly, and InuYasha scowled.

"You two feel the same way, do you?" he demanded of Kagome and Shippo in a low voice. Shippo swallowed hard and hid behind Kagome before answering. He really didn't like the way InuYasha was looking at him.

"Um…yes," he squeaked nervously, bracing himself for the punch InuYasha was going to give him.

"Kagome?"

"Yeah I guess…I mean what's the harm in waiting one more day?" she responded. InuYasha growled and got to his feet.

"Fine, we'll stay here one more day," he said begrudgingly, as he crossed his arms over his chest, "but tomorrow we're setting off again, and I don't want to hear any crap from anyone. Every minute we spend lying around gives Naraku an advantage." With this statement he stalked off to the woods, and Kagome watched him leave in confusion. He was acting very strange today.

"Well, that's settled," Miroku said cheerfully, standing up. "What shall we do now? Go down to the village?"

"Why? So you can do some more palm readings and convince another poor girl that her future is to bear you a son?" Sango asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.

"Now, now Sango, what do you take me for?" Miroku asked innocently, not even balking at Sango's accusations.

"A lecher," Shippo replied simply. "Haven't we gone over this before?" Miroku cleared his throat nervously, and Kagome giggled. Clearly, Shippo had gotten the upper hand in this discussion. Just as Miroku was fruitlessly trying to defend his hentai behavior, Kagome felt her stomach give a lurch. Though it was very faint, she could sense a Shikon jewel shard coming their way.

"What's the matter, Kagome?" Sango asked, noticing her friend's sudden tenseness.

"I can sense a Shikon jewel shard," she told them as she began to walk in the direction of the shard's pull. "I can barely tell, but I think it's coming from the woods."

"We'd better warn InuYasha," Miroku said as he ran off to find the hanyou. The others followed closely behind, making sure to keep a wary eye for any demons that may be approaching.

When they found InuYasha he already had the Tetsusaiga drawn and he was sniffing around wildly.

"Demons," he growled, "and they're coming in fast. Brace yourselves." Sango instinctively drew her Hiriakotsu and Miroku held his staff across his chest. Kagome and Shippo took their customary place with the transformed Kirara, out of harm's way. Though she doubted she would get to use it, Kagome tightened her grip on her bow.

A sadistic smirk spread across InuYasha's face as the trees began to sway and quiver. There was the sound of roaring as a few trees were uprooted. Kagome heard Shippo cry out involuntarily, and the young kitsune clung to her leg in fear.

Finally, the demons made their appearance in the clearing. Two gigantic bear demons with flaming red eyes burst through the trees. Kagome looked at them closely, and saw that they each had two Shikon jewel shards embedded in their foreheads.

"InuYasha! The jewels are in the forehead!" Kagome called.

"Right," he said with a nod. "This is where the fun begins." He jumped into the air just as one of the demons brought its paw down right where InuYasha had been standing a few minutes previous. While he was in the air the other bear took a swipe at him, but InuYasha managed to dodge that as well.

Sango and Miroku gave each other a meaningful look before turning their attention to the bear demon closest to them. It was time they jumped in and gave InuYasha a hand. Sango sent her Hiriakotsu spinning toward the bear demon, though not with her usual force, seeing as she was still injured. It came sailing back around, grazing the top of the demon's head before returning to Sango. She caught it, and panted heavily from the exertion.

"Not to worry Sango," Miroku assured her as he noticed her discomfort. "I'll handle it from here." He reached up for his prayer beads just as he thrust his right hand out in front of him.

"Wind—" he began to shout, but a cry from Kagome interrupted him.

"Miroku!" she yelled, pointing toward the sky behind the bear demon. Miroku followed her gaze and to his surprise he saw a swarm of yellow insects coming toward them.

"Naraku's poisonous insects!" he shouted in disgust, quickly covering his wind tunnel again. There was no way he could use his wind tunnel with those bugs hanging around. What were they doing here anyway?

Once again Sango sent her Hiriakotsu spinning, this time her targets were Naraku's bugs.

"InuYasha!" Kagome shouted, trying to warn him of this new threat.

He gave the bear a long gash across the back with Tetsusaiga before landing on his feet near Kagome and Shippo.

"Naraku's insects?" he said in confusion. "What are they doing here?" Could this be another trap set by Naraku?

"InuYasha watch out!" Kagome yelled as a bear demon came rushing toward them. He managed to dodge the bear's claws just in time, but Kagome, Shippo, and Kirara were all sent flying into different parts of the forest.

InuYasha gave the bear a sharp slash in the head before landing on his feet on the monster's other side.

"Dammit!" he said in annoyance as he saw that the demon had not weakened.

"InuYasha! Where's Kagome?" Miroku called over to him, as he smacked the bear demon he was fighting across the forehead with his staff. InuYasha glanced around in confusion and it was the first time he noticed Kagome missing from the clearing.

"Kagome!" he yelled, but he received no response. InuYasha growled up at the demon that was now charging him once again. "I don't have time for this." He jumped into the air and raised Tetsusaiga high over his head.

"Wind scar!" he screamed as he brought his sword down and completely obliterated the demon before him. He sheathed Tetsusaiga and glanced over at Miroku and Sango, they seemed to be fairing all right.

"I'm going to find Kagome," he announced. "Collect the jewel shards once you're done." With that he sprang away into the forest, following Kagome's scent.

"No wait! Take care of the other one first!" Miroku called after him, but it was already too late. He sighed and shook his head as he turned his attention back to fighting the bear demon.

"He certainly has a one track mind," Sango observed.

"Tell me about it," Miroku agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kagome winced as she struggled to her feet. She had taken the force of the fall on her back, and was surprised that all her bones hadn't been broken. She began limping back toward the battlefield, or at least in the direction she thought the battlefield must be.

_"I have to get back to InuYasha_,_"_ she thought desperately, pushing her way through the tree branches and bramble. _"What if he needs my help?"_ She leaned up against a tree to catch her breath for a moment, when suddenly a glowing green, almost snake-like creature slid its way past her in the air. A shiver went down her spine as she realized what it was.

_"A soul collector,"_ she thought, her stomach tensing in fear. _"That must mean that Kikyo's nearby."_

She took a deep breath and pushed herself up off the tree. She had to find out what Kikyo was doing there. Had she come with the demons and Naraku's insects? Or was she here on her own? Kagome winced and pressed a hand to her ribs as she limped after the soul collector. Even if she did come across Kikyo she doubted she would have the strength to face her. Her meetings with Kikyo had never been of a friendly nature.

Kagome's breathing became heavier as she pulled herself into a small clearing. She didn't think she could take much more of this.

"Hello Kagome," said a familiar voice. Kagome's head shot up, her eyes widening in a mixture of fear and surprise. Kikyo was standing before her, her soul collectors swarming around her, and she had her bow drawn with an arrow pointing straight at Kagome.

"K-Kikyo," Kagome stuttered nervously as she tried her best to move out of the way of the miko's arrow. She didn't like the way Kikyo was looking at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking care of an old problem," Kikyo responded simply, and she let the arrow loose from her bow. With this threat flying toward her, Kagome managed to move her aching body out of harm's way, and instead of taking the arrow in the chest, was only grazed in the arm.

She felt blood well up from the wound and soak her sleeve. What was going on? Kikyo notched another arrow and once again aimed for Kagome.

"Kikyo, why are you doing this?" she asked desperately. _"Well that's a stupid question, Kagome,"_ she thought reasonably. _"This is all over InuYasha no doubt."_ Kikyo let another arrow fly, and this one ripped open the flesh on Kagome's right side. Kagome pressed a hand to the gash and felt blood leak through the spaces between her fingers.

Kikyo chuckled low in her throat and slowly pulled another arrow out of her quiver.

"It seems Naraku is more desperate than ever to get rid of the girl with the purifying arrows," Kikyo responded with a slight smirk. "He's once again enlisted me to get rid of you." She shot her third arrow, which tore open Kagome's other arm.

_"I don't understand,"_ she thought. _"Why doesn't she just kill me? I'm in no condition to fight against her…unless…she's teasing me," _Kagome realized. _"She wants me to suffer before she kills me."_

"And how could I refuse the chance to personally dispose of my competition?" Kikyo told her, letting another arrow fly. This one was aimed directly for Kagome's heart, and she only managed to dodge it just in time, and received it in her left side instead.

"Kikyo please…" Kagome panted. "I'm not your competition…trust me!"

"Don't insult me, girl," Kikyo said bitterly as she drew back yet another arrow. "Do you think I am ignorant to the fact that InuYasha is partial to you? As long as you remain in his heart, I cannot possess it." Another arrow came at her, but somehow she managed to avoid this once completely. She pushed herself up from the dirt and dead leaves and tried to support her shaking frame. There was no way she was getting out of this alive, not unless InuYasha could finish off the two bear demons.

_"That all must have been part of Naraku's plot,"_ she thought despairingly. _"He wanted to be able to distract InuYasha from coming to rescue me." _

"Kikyo, listen to me," Kagome pleaded. "InuYasha chose you, okay? You don't have anything to worry about. He still loves you!" It pained Kagome to admit this out loud, even though InuYasha had told her all this himself. Still, she didn't need it repeated, and she especially didn't want to tell Kikyo about his decision, but she was desperate. It was her pride or her life.

Kikyo chuckled again and drew back another arrow. Her face was set, and Kagome felt her spirits sinking. She could tell that Kikyo's mind was made up, and nothing she could say would change it.

"Even if your words are true," Kikyo scoffed. "Better safe than sorry, wouldn't you agree?" Kagome's eyes widened in fear and she felt her entire body trembling. She didn't think she had the strength to dodge another one of Kikyo's arrows.

"InuYasha…where are you?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

InuYasha raced through the forest following the scent of Kagome and newly spilled blood. Obviously she had gotten herself into some trouble; he just hoped it wasn't anything too serious. It was just like Kagome to get into some hopeless situation while he was battling demons. She was going to have to learn to defend herself better. In fact, once he'd rescued her and received her admiration (which was inevitable after a display of good old fashion ass kicking), he was going to give her a piece of his mind.

He tore through trees, pushing branches out of his face. He couldn't believe Kagome had gotten this far into the forest so quickly. She could only have been missing for ten minutes tops. InuYasha felt his heartbeat quickening; now he was really starting to worry. Where could she have gotten to?

He jumped down from a tree branch and pressed himself close to the ground. Kagome's scent was starting to get stronger and he was sure he was getting closer. He stood up and slowly made his way toward a clearing that Kagome's scent seemed to be radiating from.

Suddenly he heard a sharp cry that sounded horrifyingly like Kagome. He raced to the clearing and burst through the trees.

"Kagome!" he shouted desperately, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw that scene before him. Kagome was kneeling on the ground covered in blood, and an arrow was protruding from her left shoulder. Even more surprising than Kagome's current state was the fact that Kikyo was there, with bow and arrow in hand.

"Kagome," he said again, this time more quietly and he shook a little as he started to kneel down to her level. She winced and pushed him away slightly. She was all right for now, and she was sure InuYasha had some things to discuss with Kikyo. Besides, for some reason, she couldn't bear for InuYasha to show her any signs of affection in front of Kikyo.

InuYasha jumped up, his concern for Kagome instantly turning into rage against Kikyo.

"How could you do this Kikyo?" he demanded in outrage, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"InuYasha…you seem displeased," Kikyo observed casually, as if she had just served him a dinner he wasn't fond of. Her bow was still drawn and pointing at Kagome.

"Wha—of course I am!" he shouted. "Look at what you've done!"

"I was merely getting rid of an obstacle between us," Kikyo said, in her same cool and collected manner. Kagome shuddered in pain and bit her lip to keep herself from crying out. If she had more strength she would have told Kikyo off, but given her current state she could barely sit up, let alone speak.

"Kagome is not an obstacle!" InuYasha said defensively. Kagome wasn't sure if she should be flattered by his comment or not. "She's never been…I swore to protect you, Kikyo." Kagome watched in shock as InuYasha's countenance softened and he slowly stepped toward Kikyo. She couldn't believe this. After everything Kikyo had done to her, he was still going to forgive her! Not to mention, his words had really stung. Didn't he care about her enough to at least defend her as she sat there bleeding?  
_"Apparently not,"_ Kagome thought sadly.

"Kikyo please…don't do something you're going to regret," InuYasha pleaded, coming closer to her. Kikyo's face hardened and she brought her arrow back even more forcefully.

"I won't regret getting her out of our lives forever," Kikyo said decidedly. Kagome barely had the strength to look up at her would-be murderer. All she knew was that she had to stay strong; she wouldn't fall in front of Kikyo. Kagome gave another shudder and glanced over at the arrow in her shoulder. She had to find a way to dislodge it somehow. She slowly tried to lift up her arm and get her hands on the arrow, but even this small action caused excruciating pain. The exchange between InuYasha and Kikyo, however, was enough to keep her distracted.

"Kikyo…"InuYasha began as he continued to come towards her. Kikyo cast an angry glance over at the hanyou, but upon seeing his expression her own softened.

"InuYasha," she whispered and her arms began to tremble as a layer of tears formed in her eyes.

"K-Kikyo," he repeated, and Kagome noticed a new emotion in his voice. Kikyo could restrain herself no longer. She dropped her bow and quiver and then threw herself into his embrace.

"InuYasha," she cried as she clung to his haori. Kagome couldn't even begin to comprehend what she was witnessing.

_"I'd be happy to give them some privacy…if I was in any condition to do so,"_ Kagome thought in annoyance. _"Why didn't you just kill me and get it over with, Kikyo!"_ Kagome bit her lip to hold back cries of pain as she tried to reach the arrow in her shoulder.

"Please forgive me, InuYasha," Kikyo begged, snuggling up to his chest.

_"Looks like he already has, if you ask me,"_ Kagome thought bitterly. Finally, she managed to wrap her fingers around the arrow shaft. She took a deep breath and cast one last look up at InuYasha and Kikyo. Any pain drawing the arrow out would cause her, was nothing compared to the heartache she was experiencing. She gave the arrow a firm pull and it came free, dripping with her blood. She couldn't help but cry out this time.

The sound of Kagome's voice jarred InuYasha out of his daydream. Suddenly the picture of a dying Kagome flashed before his eyes.

"Kagome!" he exclaimed, turning slightly to try and get a look at her. Kikyo wanted none of this. She quickly grabbed InuYasha by the shoulders and pulled him down to her height to press her lips on his.

Kagome felt as though her stomach had been ripped in two, and the ache in her chest surpassed any pain given by her wounds. InuYasha was kissing Kikyo…as she sat bleeding and was slowly losing consciousness…InuYasha was kissing Kikyo. It was then that Kagome felt her strength leave her. She swooned and felt herself fall back into a pile of dead leaves on the forest floor. Her eyes slowly filled with tears as she looked at the scene in front of her. This was her final proof that InuYasha had never cared for her at all.

"InuYasha…" she whispered feebly before her eyes fully closed. The tears shining in her eyes finally rolled down her cheeks and Kagome was lost in a world of darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Shippo opened his eyes slowly and blinked blearily up at the canopy of trees above him. He sat up and rubbed the large lump on his head as the memories came flooding back to him. The bear demon had taken a mighty swipe at him, Kirara, and Kagome and they had all been sent flying into the forest.

Shippo stood up and began walking back toward the village. He couldn't hear the battle raging anymore, and he hoped that his friends had come off the victors. The best thing for him to do now was head back to the village, he was sure the others were probably heading that way, if they weren't there already.

As he walked along he came upon the fully transformed Kirara. Shippo was relieved to see that she was up and about, and that she was unharmed.

"Kirara!" Shippo exclaimed gratefully as he jumped onto her back and hugged her neck. "You're okay!" Kirara gave an affirmative 'mew'. "Come on, Kirara, we'd better find the others."

The creature made a slight bow of the head and began pacing through the woods, searching for her master's scent. Shippo looked around wildly, hoping to catch a glimpse of InuYasha bounding through the trees, or Kagome trying to make her way back to the battlefield.

_"Oh…I hope everyone's all right,"_ Shippo thought anxiously.

Meanwhile, Sango and Miroku were also searching for the others in the woods. After defeating the remaining bear demon and collecting the jewel shards the pair had headed off in the same direction that InuYasha had taken.

"They can't have gotten far," Sango reasoned as they trudged along.

"Too bad we don't have InuYasha's nose to lead the way," Miroku grumbled as he tried to untangle his robes from a cluster of jagged tree roots.

"I wonder what happened to Shippo and Kirara," Sango mused aloud. "I don't think InuYasha thought to look for them."

"I'm sure they're fine," Miroku assured her. They continued on in their search, and they were extremely relieved to come across Shippo and Kirara.

"Miroku! Sango!" Shippo exclaimed happily. "I'm so glad you're all right. Where are InuYasha and Kagome?"

"We were just looking for them," Sango replied.

"Shippo…your nose isn't as sensitive as InuYasha's, but maybe you could pick up Kagome's scent," Miroku reasoned.

"I'll try my best," the kitsune said with a nod. He began to sniff the air fervently, twisting his head in all directions. After a few moments of tense silence Shippo spoke again, and his voice quivered with fear. "I smell…blood." Sango and Miroku exchanged uneasy looks.

"Which way Shippo?" Miroku demanded.

"Over there," Shippo informed them, pointing straight ahead. "I don't think it's very far."

"Come on!" Miroku called as he raced off, and the others were hot on his heels.

"Miroku…you don't think…" Sango began nervously.

"Let's just put it this way, Sango, I didn't see _InuYasha_ running off with any wounds," he said pointedly. Sango chewed her lower lip, but said nothing.

"Do you think Kagome's in trouble?" Shippo exclaimed, looking between the monk and demon slayer in horror.

"Don't worry Shippo, if you picked up the scent of blood, I'm sure InuYasha has as well, and he's probably already saved Kagome from any threat," Miroku assured him. Shippo swallowed hard and nodded. He hoped Miroku was right, for Kagome's sake.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha. **

**A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed my story. It's a real confidence booster when people tell you they enjoyed your story. So thanks a million for all the support and criticism. I hope you enjoy the next few chapters, sorry if some are a little on the short side. Happy reading!Lothlome**

Chapter 5

For a moment InuYasha wavered as Kikyo pushed a kiss against his lips, but the smell of Kagome's freshly spilt blood filled his nose, and he couldn't bear to be so close to the person that had tried to kill her. Anger welled up in InuYasha's chest, and he pushed Kikyo away forcefully.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Kikyo?" he yelled. The priestess merely smirked with a mean satisfaction.

"Well, my work here is done," she said as her soul collectors slid around her and lifted her into the air.

"Kikyo!" InuYasha growled as he clenched his fists.

"Remember InuYasha, your life belongs to me," Kikyo told him before she disappeared in shining globes of white light, and her remaining soul collectors flew out of sight. He stared at the sky where she had vanished in a mixture of anger and regret.

Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara burst into the clearing just as Kikyo disappeared. None of them could believe the sight before their eyes. They had expected Kagome to be hurt, but not like this.

"Kagome!" Shippo shouted as tears filled his eyes. He jumped down off Kirara's back and ran over to her. "Kagome, can you hear me?" The sound of the kitsune's voice caught InuYasha's attention and he hurried over to his friends grouped around Kagome. He couldn't think of anything to say, all he could do was stare down at Kagome's bloodied form.

"She's unconscious, Shippo," Miroku said. His tone kept its usual evenness but Sango noticed the sadness and anxiousness in his eyes and countenance. "We must get her back to the village immediately. She needs treatment."

"I'll go ahead with Kirara and tell Kaede to start preparing," Sango suggested as she jumped onto Kirara's back.

"I'll go with you, Sango," Shippo said, his eyes still shining with tears. "Take care of Kagome you guys, okay?" Miroku nodded serenely and offered the kitsune a small encouraging smile. InuYasha said nothing and looked away.

"We will Shippo," Miroku reassured him. Sango cast one last worried glance down at her injured friend before Kirara sprung into the air. Once they were alone Miroku turned on InuYasha.

"What happened, InuYasha?" he demanded. He didn't want to give it away yet, but he had seen one of Kikyo's soul collectors as she departed, and he was interested to learn what her involvement had been in this whole affair.

"Uh…I…I…didn't make it here in time," InuYasha stammered, looking down at the forest floor.

"You didn't?" Miroku asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I didn't," InuYasha said angrily. "You got a problem with that, monk?"

"Calm down, InuYasha, I was just surprised by your answer, is all," Miroku said in an effort to pacify him, which did nothing to improve InuYasha's temper. "I would have thought with your speed and superior sense of smell you would have been able to locate Kagome faster than the rest of us."

"Well I guess you thought wrong," InuYasha said in annoyance, folding his hands inside the sleeves of his haori and looking away with a scowl.

"I guess I did," Miroku agreed as he kneeled down to pick up Kagome.

"What do you think you're doing, Miroku?" InuYasha demanded as the monk slowly slipped one of his arms under Kagome's head, and the other under her knees.

"Taking Kagome back to the village, we can't just leave her here," Miroku argued.

"Yeah, but why are _you_ the one carrying her," InuYasha gave Miroku a suspicious look; he didn't trust that hentai monk in a situation like this. With Kagome unconscious it would be a perfect opportunity for Miroku to cop a feel.

"Fine, do you want to carry her then?" Miroku said and his frustration was starting to bleed into the tone of his voice. Leave it to InuYasha to be so infantile at a time like this. Did he really think he was going to take advantage of Kagome when she was in such a state?

InuYasha looked down at Kagome and he felt his legs starting to quake at the sight of her blood drenched shirt. He could barely look at Kagome, let alone carry her all the way back to the village. His stomach was contorting with guilt, if he hadn't been so caught up in trying to reason with Kikyo he might have been able to save her from some of this pain. Kagome had always been by his side, protecting him whenever she could, even helping him look after Kikyo when the need arose, and he had repaid her by kissing Kikyo right in front of her, right after Kikyo had tried to kill her only a few minutes before. Granted, he hadn't been the one to initiate the kiss, but still…just the idea that he had been involved in something like that made him sick to his stomach.

"What's the point? You've already got her anyway," InuYasha shot at Miroku, masking any guilt he was feeling with a façade of frustration and anger. "Just stop wasting time, and let's go." With that he stalked off through the trees. Miroku sighed and shook his head as he followed after him. There was no use arguing with InuYasha when he was like this…there was no use arguing with InuYasha anytime, really.

_"There's something about this encounter with Kikyo that he's obviously ashamed of," _Miroku thought reasonably._ "But what could it be? I suppose I'll have to try and get some answers out of him later." _The pair walked back to the village in silence. Miroku spent most of his time staring down at Kagome. She was weakening by the second, if they didn't get to the village soon she was going to be in even more danger than she was already. InuYasha was constantly casting glances back at Miroku and Kagome, eyeing the monk suspiciously every time. Miroku rolled his eyes. He really had developed a bad reputation.

They finally reached the small hut they had been using as their hide out during their stays at the village, and Miroku was relieved to see Kaede heading inside with herbs and bandages. Shippo was outside pacing like a madman with Kirara, who was now in her original form.

"Finally!" he shouted when he saw Miroku, Kagome, and InuYasha. "We thought you guys got lost or something. Quick Miroku, bring Kagome inside, Kaede and Sango are waiting for her." Shippo raced up the steps into the hut to inform the women of Miroku's arrival. Sango appeared in the doorway a few seconds later looking flustered.

"Hurry Miroku, bring her inside," Sango urged. The monk nodded and walked Kagome into the hut. InuYasha was about to follow behind him, but Sango held out her arm to stop him. "You might as well stay out here InuYasha," she told him and he glared at her. "You won't be allowed in while we're tending to Kagome anyway."

"What?" he said in outrage. "So I just have to sit outside like a nervous wreck? No way!" Sango huffed in annoyance and put her hands on her hips. Sometimes she really wished she could use the 'sit' command like Kagome.

"Well too bad," Sango shot back at him angrily, causing the hanyou to jump back a few inches. Sango could be really scary when she was upset. "I'm not compromising Kagome's modesty because you decided to be the world's biggest jerk." InuYasha's cheeks turned a light shade of red, but he didn't back down in his resolve.

"Look, that's not what I—" he began, but he was interrupted as Miroku and Shippo exited the hut.

"Sango, Lady Kaede says she has need of you," Miroku told the demon slayer. She nodded and cast InuYasha a cold glare before heading in.

"Come on Shippo, you can help us," she told the kitsune.

"What? How come Shippo gets to go in?" InuYasha said in confusion. He was given no response and was left watching the mat over the doorway blow in the wind.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

InuYasha and Miroku had been waiting outside the hut for and hour and a half and Kagome was still being tended to by Kaede. Shippo had come out a few times to give them an update a few times to give them an update, but for InuYasha that wasn't enough. He had been pacing up and down the lawn with his hands folded behind his back almost nonstop since Kagome had been put inside the hut. He kept on glancing over at the doorway, as if he was expecting Kagome to appear in perfect health.

"Calm down InuYasha," Miroku said coolly from his place on the ground. Instead of working himself into a frenzy like his hanyou friend, he had decided to meditate. He was sitting cross-legged near the hut with his eyes closed and his staff across his lap.

"Calm down? Calm down?" InuYasha repeated in a growing state of agitation. "Did you see Kagome when we brought her here? And what the hell is taking so long?" Miroku took a deep breath through his nose and let it out slowly.

"InuYasha, I'm just as worried for Kagome's welfare as you are, but I don't think running around like madmen is going to help the situation," Miroku reasoned. InuYasha stopped pacing abruptly and he felt the heat travel up his face.

"I'm not worried," he said defensively. "Kagome is a tough girl, she'll pull through. I was just tryin' to work off some of my extra energy." Miroku tried to hold back a smirk. InuYasha's mannerisms never ceased to amuse and amaze him.

"Of course InuYasha," he said. The half-demon narrowed his eyes at the monk and folded his hands inside the sleeves of his haori.

"I'm not worried," he said again, though this was probably more to reassure himself thanMiroku.

"InuYasha…why don't you come sit with me for awhile?" Miroku suggested pleasantly, completely disregarding InuYasha's last statement.

"Fine," InuYasha agreed reluctantly and he plopped down beside the monk. He had to admit, Miroku's calmness was annoying the hell out of him. "So…now what?"

"Just sit…relax…become one with your surroundings," Miroku said soothingly.

"What the hell are you trying to pull here Miroku?" InuYasha demanded.

"I'm just trying to help you calm down, InuYasha," Miroku told him with a smirk. "All that worrying is going to ruin your health."

"Wha—I am not worrying!" he shouted. Miroku just smiled and remained silent. InuYasha scowled and glared in the opposite direction, mumbling something about Miroku being a pain in the ass.

"InuYasha…may I ask you something?" Miroku inquired after a few moments of quiet.

"Yeah sure, I don't have anything better to do," InuYasha grumbled.

"What were you looking at when the others and I came into the clearing?" he asked casually. He was still trying to see if he could get InuYasha to admit what had happened on his own.

"Nothing," he said shortly, staring down at his legs. "I got a little distracted, that's all."

"Distracted?" Miroku repeated, pretending to be only mildly interested.

"Yeah, Miroku, distracted," InuYasha snapped. "You've never had that problem before?"

"Well played my friend," the monk chuckled, "well played."

"Dammit Miroku, do you have any idea how—" InuYasha immediately stopped talking as Sango walked out of the hut looking tired but at the same time relieved. InuYasha jumped up and hurried over to her, and Miroku followed upon sensing the change in InuYasha's attitude.

"How's Kagome?" InuYasha asked anxiously.

"She's fine," Sango assured them. "Kaede's finishing her bandages up now. She still hasn't woken up, but it's really nothing to be concerned about."

"That's wonderful news," Miroku said brightly.

"So we can go in and see her now, right?" InuYasha said as he headed toward the door. Sango, once again, held her arm out to stop him.

"Kaede said that Kagome shouldn't have any visitors until she's gotten some of her strength back."

"Are you kidding me?" InuYasha shouted. "I've been waiting out here all day. I'm going to see Kagome." He tried to push his way past Sango, but the demon slayer would not let him pass so easily.

"Back off InuYasha!" she warned.

"Why don't you make me?" he shot back as they continued to struggle.

"Both of you stop this at once!" Miroku commanded. "This is no way to—"

"SHUT UP, MIROKU!" Sango and InuYasha yelled in annoyance.

"Well," Miroku said, straightening his robes and trying to maintain a look of dignity. "That's the last time I try to help you two."

As the hanyou and the demon slayer continued arguing, Kaede stepped out of the hut. She cast one look over at InuYasha and rolled her eyes.

_"This is why I decided to prohibit visitors,"_ she thought dryly.

"Kaede!" InuYasha shouted upon noticing her, and stormed over to the old priestess. "What's this crap about not letting people in to see Kagome?"

"It's true, InuYasha," Kaede said with an affirmative nod. "I've decided it's best for Kagome if she was left alone for a few days. I, of course, will check in on her regularly, but in the meantime I'll be counting on Sangoto look after her." InuYasha's hands curled into fists reflexively and he stared at Kaede as if he wanted to rip her entrails out.

"Listen old woman, if you think for once second that I'm—"

"We're happy to respect you wishes, Lady Kaede," Miroku interrupted, offering the priestess a respectful bow. "Anything to ensure Kagome's speedy recovery."

"Thank you," she said returning Miroku's bow. "I shall be staying with Kagome tonight to keep an eye on her." Kaede went back into the hut, leaving InuYasha, Miroku, and Sango outside in the growing twilight.

"InuYasha, I know you're upset, but it's for the best," Sango said in an effort to calm him down.

"Whatever," he mumbled as he sank down to the ground and crossed his arms over his chest. Miroku looked over at Sango with an apologetic shrug.

"He's just upset," Miroku said quietly. "Once Kagome wakes up he'll be back to his old self."

"Not sure if that's much better," Sango said dryly. "I'm going inside, I guess you guys'll have to set up camp out here tonight."

"Not a problem," Miroku assured her. Sango smiled weakly and returned to the hut. For a man with such a bad reputation, Miroku could be really sweet sometimes.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

That evening InuYasha, Miroku, Shippo, Sango, and Kaede had dinner outside under the clear night sky. There wasn't much conversation, and the only time they did talk InuYasha was demanding information on Kagome. Even Shippo was unusually quiet, and he refrained from his usual practical jokes. He simply sipped his soup in silence and stared into the cackling fire. After supper Sango and Kaede returned to the hut for the evening. The other three all settled down relatively early and tried to get some sleep. It had been a long day.

InuYasha sighed heavily and laid flat on his back with his hands laced under his head. His body was aching for rest, but his mind was racing at a million thoughts per second. His eyes traced the pattern of the stars as he mused on the day's events.

He couldn't believe he hadn't been allowed to see Kagome. Then again, maybe it was for the best. He was pretty sure that if Kagome woke up while he was visiting, she might try to kill him. He wondered how much of the exchange between himself and Kikyo Kagome had actually seen before she passed out. There was a good chance she had witnessed most, if not all of it. Still, he held onto the hope that she might not have seen the kiss.

Every time he thought about what had occurred that day in the clearing his stomach twisted uncomfortably. He had never felt so guilty in all his life, and that was saying something.

_"I never wanted this to happen Kagome,"_ he thought bitterly. _"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I won't let something like this happen again, I promise."_ Even though Kagome couldn't hear this declaration, it made him feel a little better, and his chest didn't seem so tight anymore.

"InuYasha…" Shippo said quietly, giving the hanyou a sidelong glance.

"What Shippo?" InuYasha grumbled. He wasn't too happy about having his thoughts interrupted.

"Kagome's going to be all right, isn't she?" Shippo asked slowly.

"Of course she is," InuYasha said finally, and he really hoped he was speaking the truth. "Kagome's a tough girl; it's going to take more than a few scratches to take her down."

"These weren't little scratches though, InuYasha," Shippo argued. "I saw them, they were pretty bad, and it took forever to get the bleeding to stop. I just think it may have been too much this time."

"Didn't Kaede say she was going to be all right?" InuYasha snapped. He really didn't want to hear this anymore. If he couldn't see Kagome he didn't want to hear any horror stories about her wounds.

"Yeah but—"

"Then she'll be fine," he said simply, turning his back on the young fox.

"Do you have any idea what might have happened to her?" Shippo inquired.

"No, I already told you, I only got there a minute before you did," InuYasha said in frustration.

"I know that," Shippo countered. "I just thought you might have some idea about what attacked her. Kaede said it definitely wasn't a demon, or the damage would have been much worse." InuYasha twitched and clamped his eyes shut. He didn't even want to think about that possibility.

"Just go to sleep Shippo," InuYasha ordered, though his voice didn't have its usual bite. "You'll feel better about this in the morning."

"I guess you're right," Shippo agreed slowly. "Goodnight InuYasha."

"'Night," he said shortly. They lay in silence for a few minutes, but InuYasha couldn't seem to relax. Shippo's words had really gotten to him.

"Shippo?" he said after a time.

"Yeah…" the kitsune said sleepily.

"She was about to die…wasn't she?" he asked softly and he felt his throat tighten as he said this. His ultimate fear finally voiced.

"Yeah…she was," Shippo said sadly. "Goodnight InuYasha." He fell silent and few minutes later InuYasha heard his breathing even out.

InuYasha forced his eyes shut and tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach. His last thought before falling into an uneasy sleep was how much he wanted to see Kagome.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Two days passed and Kagome still had not woken up. Kaede said it was normal for a human to go through a lethargic period while healing from a serious injury, but InuYasha had his doubts. Not to mention he was going crazy from not being able to see Kagome. He had even promised to try and control his temper if they let him in, but it was no use. He and Miroku had been shut out, and even Shippo was being excluded. The only reason he was allowed in anymore was because he had started crying, and Sango couldn't bear to see him so upset. InuYasha wanted to see Kagome, but he wasn't about to stoop to that level to get what he wanted.

_"Stupid Shippo,"_ InuYasha thought angrily as he watched the kitsune frolic around happily with Kirara and Sango. His only justice was that at that very moment Shippo had just tripped over a rock and landed on his face. InuYasha snorted in satisfaction.

"Shippo," he snickered.

"That's the first smile I've seen you crack in days," Miroku observed. InuYasha scowled at this comment and folded his arms.

"What are you stalking me now?" InuYasha said caustically.

"No, but being forced to spend so much time with you leaves me with few ways to entertain myself," Miroku replied simply. InuYasha rolled his eyes.

"Dammit you people are annoying," he grumbled. "I can't wait until Kagome wakes up so I can—"

"Express your undying love for her?" Miroku supplied with an eyebrow raise. InuYasha's face burned crimson and he stared down at the grass to avoid the suggestive looks Miroku was giving him.

"No," he said nervously. "I just want her to wake up so I can get the hell out of here and we can look for more jewel shards."

"Just because Kagome wakes up, it doesn't mean she'll be ready to start traveling again," Miroku explained reasonably. "She's going to need time to recuperate and she'll probably want to return to her own era for awhile. They seem to have many advanced forms of medicine in her time." InuYasha sighed heavily and looked down at the grass dejectedly. He hated when Kagome went through the well. She usually only went home for two reasons, because she had a test, or because she was mad at him. He had a feeling she was going to be furious with him when she woke up. She was probably going to 'sit' him to the ninth circle of Hell.

"Don't worry InuYasha," Miroku said bracingly. "Kagome'll be back to normal before you know it, and who knows? Maybe she won't go back to her time."

_"You'd better be right Miroku, or I'm going to have to kill you,"_ InuYasha thought warningly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: Just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed for their support, you guys are what inspires me to get my chapters out so fast. I just hope the story lives up to everyone's expectations. I guess I'll be updating four chapters at a time since that's what seems to be happening. So thanks again to everyone who reviewed, you guys rock! Happy Reading!Lothlome**

Chapter 9

On the third day since being attacked by Kikyo, Kagome began to stir. She could tell she was lying on a mat with a soft pillow under her head. A blanket was draped over her, and beads of sweat were rolling off her forehead. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to adjust to the sunlight that was streaming into the room. The minute she tried to adjust her position a searing pain engulfed her torso, and then suddenly the memories of the day she had been injured came flooding back to her. She wished she didn't remember.

Kagome looked around the hut and saw that she was alone. She assumed the others were outside getting some fresh air, but she didn't have the energy to join them. Besides, she had absolutely no desire to see InuYasha right now.

_"He probably doesn't even care that I'm hurt,"_ she thought sadly as a layer of tears formed in her eyes. _"He's too busy protecting Kikyo."_ She felt the anger starting to well up in her chest, and her whole body was starting to shake. Kagome felt the pain in her wounds intensify and she tried to calm herself. Obviously she was going to have to make sure she didn't get excited while she was recuperating.

Just as she was trying to force herself into a sitting position Sango walked through the doorway, carrying a bowl of water in for her friend. When her eyes fell on Kagome she tensed in surprise and the bowl slipped through her hands and smashed on the ground.

"Is everything all right in there Sango?" Miroku called from outside.

"Everything's fine!" Sango shouted back nervously. She then kneeled down beside Kagome.

"How are you feeling, Kagome?" she asked in concern.

"A little sore," she admitted.

"Kaede said it was probably going to take you a few weeks to fully recover," Sango told her. "You've been unconscious for two days."

"Two days?" Kagome repeated in shock and Sango nodded.

"I have to re-dress your wounds; do you think you can sit up?" Sango asked as she collected some healing herbs and gauze from the other side of the hut.

"With a little help," Kagome said with a small smile. Sango kneeled down beside her once again and eased her into a sitting position. The blanket fell down around Kagome's waist and this was the first time she got a good look at herself. She was covered from the top of her chest to her waist in bandages, and the places where Kikyo's arrows had slashed her arms were also wrapped. Blood was already leaking through the bandage on her shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're all right," Sango said brightly as she tended to her. "The past few days have been horrible. Being the only girl is a lot harder than it seems."

"Tell me about it," Kagome sighed in understanding. She could remember the days before Sango had joined their party; it had been hell trying to deal with the boys by herself.

"So Kagome, if you don't mind my asking, what happened the day you were attacked?" Sango asked curiously. The small smile that had formed on Kagome's face fell and she looked down at her blanket sadly.

"Didn't InuYasha tell you?" she asked quietly. Sango furrowed her brow in confusion.

"No, he told us he didn't get to you in time to see anything," Sango told her. Kagome tried her best to hold back an agitated yell. So he was lying to everyone to protect Kikyo, the coward. Well she was going to tell everyone exactly what happened. But the minute she opened her mouth to tell Sango what had really happened she felt all her anger replaced with a feeling of despair.

"I would really prefer if we didn't talk about that right now Sango," she said apologetically. The demon slayer nodded understandingly and offered her friend a small smile.

"So…do you think you're up for some visitors?" Sango asked brightly in an effort to change the subject. "Shippo'll be so glad to see you awake, and maybe InuYasha will stop acting like such a jerk."

_"Not likely,"_ Kagome thought hotly, but she managed a smile at the idea of seeing Shippo, Kaede, and Miroku. They always managed to make her feel better. "All right, I guess I could visit for a few minutes, but Sango…"

"Yeah?" she asked, noting the seriousness in Kagome's tone.

"No InuYasha," Kagome said quietly. Sango's eyes widened in surprise. This was an unexpected occurrence. Why wouldn't Kagome want to see InuYasha?

"But why?" Sango asked. Kagome bit her lip and stared down at her hands bashfully. She really didn't have an excuse, and she wasn't ready to talk about what had happened with Kikyo.

"I just don't have the energy to deal with him right now," Kagome said lightly, hoping Sango was fooled by her false calmness. "Maybe later."

"Um…all right, if you're sure that's what you want," Sango agreed apprehensively as she headed toward the doorway.

"I am," Kagome assured her with a nod. "Thanks Sango." The demon slayer inclined her head and headed outside to find the others. Kagome sighed heavily and sank back down under her blankets. She really appreciated the fact that Sango wasn't asking her questions about her actions. It was nice to have her requests granted without receiving the third degree. She hoped Miroku and Shippo would be just as understanding.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sango stepped out into the warm sunlight and scanned the fields for Miroku, InuYasha, and Shippo. Actually, she was hoping InuYasha would be off sulking somewhere so she wouldn't have to inform him that Kagome didn't want to see him at present. She shuddered as she imagined how that conversation would go.

_"He'd probably try to tear my throat out,"_ she thought. _"Then I'd have to hit him with my Hiriakotsu, it would be a whole ordeal."_ As she continued to search around for her companions she pondered Kagome's actions in the hut a few minutes earlier. She seemed almost desperate to keep InuYasha out of her sight, and Sango was afraid to ask why. There was the possibility that she was still shaken from the battle, but why would that stop her from wanting to see InuYasha? Something wasn't adding up.

Finally, she located the party in question. They were all loitering around the Bone Eater's Well, and InuYasha was chasing Shippo around in annoyance as the kitsune apologized profusely. Miroku was standing a few paces off, watching the scene in a mixture of exasperation and boredom. She decided to approach him first.

"Ah Sango, how's Kagome?" Miroku asked cheerfully, relieved to be talking to someone with a shred of sanity.

"She's fine, in fact, she's better than fine, she's woken up," Sango told him. Miroku's eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

"Well that's wonderful news," he said and his tone was so light that he was almost laughing. He would have continued happily on, had he not noticed the grave expression on Sango's face. "Sango, you seem troubled. What's the problem?"

"When Kagome woke up she told me that she didn't want to see InuYasha," Sango explained in a low whisper, just in case the hanyou could hear them. Miroku nodded solemnly at this statement. He supposed he shouldn't expect anything different seeing that Kikyo had been involved in the battle somehow, though perhaps in a closer way than he had previously thought.

"And you're afraid of how he'll take the news?" Miroku verified and Sango nodded in the affirmative. "This is a very interesting predicament," he said pensively. "Perhaps I should be the one to break the news to him. I know how to best handle delicate situations such as these." Sango's eyes lit up in relief.

"Really Miroku? You'll tell him for me? Thanks, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that," she told him. "I _really_ didn't want to have to tell InuYasha myself, he can be a bit of a handful when he gets angry."

"Now, now Sango, InuYasha's temper is nothing to be intimidated by," Miroku said knowingly as he placed a hand on Sango's back. She looked at him warily as he continued on. "After spending as much time with InuYasha as I have, you'll learn that his bouts of anger are merely fronts to hide deeper emotions. He's actually quite easy to deal with once you've figured him out."

"That's very interesting Miroku," Sango said dryly, narrowing her eyes at the monk. His hand had now slipped down from her upper back to her ass. She was not amused. "By the way, you might want to remove your hand from its resting place before I tear it off your wrist." Miroku gave a nervous sort of chuckle and quickly removed the perpetrating hand and used it to rub the back of his neck.

"My Sango…I'd forgotten you were the violent type," he said with a guilty smile and his cheeks barely tinged pink. Sango rolled her eyes. Just when she thought her opinion of him was wrong, he went and did something like that. She honestly could not understand that man.

"Can we please just tell InuYasha about Kagome, and get this over with?" she demanded through clenched teeth.

"After you," Miroku said with a bow. Sango scowled and walked over to where InuYasha was beating the living hell out of Shippo.

"InuYasha…would you leave him alone?" she said in annoyance. InuYasha looked up at the demon slayer, his fist suspended in the air mid-punch.

"Any news on Kagome?" he asked instantly, releasing Shippo from where he was pinned on the ground. The kitsune took this opportunity to attach himself to Miroku. He wasn't about to take a chance with InuYasha's temper again. That was the last time he tried to cheer the hanyou up.

_"I thought my impression of Sesshomaru was pretty good,"_ Shippo thought as he rubbed the lump on his head. Though in hindsight he considered that he probably shouldn't have called InuYasha a 'worthless excuse for a half-demon'. _"I was just trying to make it authentic. There's just no pleasing some people."_ The kitsune shook his head and sighed.

Sango bit her lip and looked at InuYasha apprehensively. She didn't care what Miroku said about InuYasha masking his true feelings, he was still going to get angry and then he was going to do something stupid and rash…as always. Actually, she was surprised she wasn't used to this by now. She took a deep breath.

"Yes, well, she's definitely on her way to a full recovery," she told him with the biggest grin she could muster. "In fact…she's woken up."

"So that means we can finally visit her," InuYasha said triumphantly.

"Well actually InuYasha…" Miroku began, but the hanyou was nose to nose with his so fast that it made the monk's head spin.

"What, Miroku, got something to say?" he asked menacingly as he cracked his knuckles.

_"He must really want to see Kagome,"_ the monk thought as beads of sweat began to roll down his temple.

"As a matter of fact, Sango has something she'd like to tell you," Miroku said with an innocent smile, passing the buck over to Sango.

"Miroku…" she growled through clenched teeth. He merely shrugged apologetically. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and balled her fists. _"I am going to kill you once this is over, houshi,"_ she thought angrily.

"So Sango…what's the trouble?" InuYasha asked, sounding extremely agitated that they were preventing him from visiting Kagome.

"Uh…well…the thing is…you see…" Sango stammered, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't think of a way to break this to InuYasha. He might act like a jerk sometimes, but that didn't mean she wanted to hurt his feelings.

"Out with it Sango!" InuYasha shouted impatiently.

"Kagome-said-she-doesn't-want-to-see-you-right-now," Sango said in a rush, but even at top speed InuYasha didn't miss the message. He visibly balked at this statement.

"S-she said what?" he asked quietly and his ears drooped sadly. "She doesn't want to see me?" He sighed and fell down to the ground in a sitting position. _"So she did see Kikyo kiss me…dammit InuYasha, you really screwed up this time. I'd be surprised if Kagome didn't go home as soon as she could walk."_

"I'm sorry InuYasha," Sango said sympathetically.

"Did she give you a reason?" he asked dejectedly.

"Not really, all she said was that she didn't have the strength for an argument," Sango told him. So…Kagome wasn't going to tell everyone what happened with Kikyo. But what was her motive in keeping it a secret? Did she want to talk to him about it first? Or did she just want to forget the whole thing?

"Oh," he said simply. Sango exchanged a worried look with Miroku. This wasn't exactly the volatile reaction she had been expecting.

"I'm sure she'll come around eventually InuYasha," Miroku reassured him. "She's probably still a little wound up."

"I guess," InuYasha agreed, but Miroku sensed that his heart was not behind his words. "You guys go ahead and visit with Kagome. I'll be back later."

"All right," Sango said and she, Miroku, and Shippo began heading in the direction of the hut. "See you later, InuYasha." The hanyou didn't respond and merely turned his back on them. Once he heard their footsteps disappear he let out a heavy sight that seemed to rise up from the bottom of his toes. He had to find a way to fix this mess.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Kagome!" Shippo exclaimed happily as he jumped into her warm embrace.

"Shippo," she giggled, glad to see her young kitsune friend was still as bright and cheerful as ever. She could use some optimism right now.

"We were so worried about you," he told her, his big blue eyes shining in concern as he thought back on the past three days. "I'm so glad you finally woke up."

"Me too Shippo," she said with a comforting smile. It pained her to know that she had everyone so worried. _"Well maybe not _everyone_…"_ she thought bitterly.

"Kagome, I am glad to see you well," Miroku said in his usual calm tones, but Kagome noted the joy and relief in his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better, but I think it'll be a few days before I'm back on my feet again," she said honestly. Miroku nodded knowingly.

"I thought as much, those wounds of yours were pretty severe," he said. Kagome flushed a light shade of red and looked away from her friends. "Tell me…do you recall anything about what happened in the clearing the day you were attacked?"

"Well I—" Kagome began nervously, but thankfully Sango came to her rescue.

"Calm down Miroku, let her recover a little bit first before she has to relive the experience," Sango shot at him. Kagome sighed in relief and looked at the demon slayer appreciatively. Sango smiled at her behind Miroku's back.

"So, tell me, what's been going on for the past three days?" Kagome inquired cheerfully, in hopes to change the subject. Shippo jumped up at the chance to entertain Kagome, who in his opinion must be very bored being cramped in the hut by herself all day. Kagome smiled as Shippo recounted his antics, and to his satisfaction she thought his plan to impersonate Sesshomaru was very amusing.

_"Ha! Take that InuYasha,"_ he thought triumphantly. After a few hours of visiting, Sango shooed Shippo and a very reluctant Miroku out of the hut so she could change Kagome's bandages.

"I could be of great use to you, Sango," Miroku was saying as she tried to push him out. "I am a man of extraordinary sexual—I mean—spiritual prowess."

"GET OUT!" Sango shouted giving him a mighty kick in the ass, which sent him tumbling out of the hut.

"You'll be sorry you refused me!" he called from outside.

"Get lost Miroku," Sango snapped, but Kagome could see a smirk tugging at her lips.

Sango retrieved some more bandages, gauze, and ointment from the other side of the hut and then kneeled beside Kagome to start replacing the old bandages. Kagome looked at her discarded wraps and saw that most of them had started to soak through with blood.

_"At this rate it's going to take me months to recover,"_ Kagome thought in disappointment.

"So Kagome, do you think you'll be up to a visit from InuYasha tomorrow?" Sango asked conversationally.

"Hard to say," Kagome said slowly. She had been hoping to avoid this topic of conversation.

"You know, he's been really worried about you," Sango told her. Kagome snorted in disbelief before she could stop herself.

"Not likely," she scoffed.

"What? You don't think he has?" Kagome remained silent and Sango pressed on. "Trust me; he's been working himself into a frenzy these past few days. He'd never admit it, but he's been really anxious to see you and make sure you're okay. Just think about it, okay?" Kagome nodded. She supposed the least she could do was _pretend_ to consider seeing him, for Sango's sake, but her mind was made up. She was going to avoid meeting InuYasha at all costs. He might be worried about her, but his concern wasn't enough to make up for what he had done. He'd gone too far this time.

_"All right InuYasha, so you picked Kikyo," _she thought morosely. _"Does that mean you don't have any feelings for me at all? Does that mean you'd leave me alone to die if you were given the choice between saving me or Kikyo? I guess that's basically what you proved to me the other day...I've been such an idiot." _Kagome was broken from her reverie as Sango finished with her bandages.

"I guess I'll leave you to get some sleep," Sango announced standing up. "Kaede said she'd be here tomorrow to check in on you. Goodnight Kagome."

"Goodnight Sango," Kagome said as she sank back down under her blankets. She heard Sango exit and slowly closed her eyes.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Miroku had already started a fire by the time Sango walked out of the hut. InuYasha still had not returned from the woods, but they all decided that he was best left to himself just now. Sango sat down across the fire from Miroku and Shippo and stared into the flames pensively. She couldn't understand what was going on between InuYasha and Kagome. They never estranged themselves from each other, unless they got into an argument, but this was different from any argument the pair had gotten into. Usually their fights were marked by anger, pride, and Kagome using the 'sit' command some sixty odd times. What they were in now was just bizarre. InuYasha was moping around like a kicked puppy, and Kagome looked like she was trying to keep herself locked away from InuYasha forever.

"I assume that you're also concerned about what's going on between InuYasha and Kagome," Miroku said solemnly, staring across the fire at her. The flames had cast shadows over his eyes, giving the monk a cryptic look that was very unsettling to Sango.

"What do you think happened?" she asked him.

"It's difficult to know for sure," Miroku said slowly. "Something must have happened during the battle."

"But InuYasha said—" Sango began.

"Come now Sango, don't tell me that you haven't considered the fact that InuYasha is lying to us," Miroku said reasonably. "I don't believe this talk of him arriving only a few minutes before ourselves. He had a considerable head start, and with such a sensitive nose, I doubt it took him that long to find her."

"You do have a point," Sango agreed shaking her head.

"Besides, I noticed something when we arrived that makes me think there's more to this than meets the eye," Miroku told them.

"What is it Miroku?" Shippo asked curiously.

"I saw one of Kikyo's soul collectors," he said gravely. Shippo and Sango exchanged disgusted looks.

"Kikyo? You think Kikyo was there?" Shippo said with wide eyes.

"No wonder why Kagome doesn't want to see InuYasha," Sango said. "Do you think something happened between him and Kikyo?"

"It's more than likely," Miroku reasoned, "but I can't be sure of anything until I know what happened that day, but neither InuYasha nor Kagome seems to be willing to discuss it."

"We have to get one of them to confess," Sango said determinedly.

"I agree, but which one would be the easier target?" Miroku said, stroking his chin as he tried to come up with a solution.

"If you ask me, Kagome'll talk before InuYasha does," Shippo said. "Besides, she'll be more likely to tell the real story, and not put a spin on it to keep _certain_ parties from looking bad."

"Hm…you have a point Shippo," Miroku said, obviously impressed with the kitsune's knowledge. "I suggest that we try and get Kagome to tell us what happened, but we can't force her to talk about it. We'll have to be discreet."

"Maybe we should just make this your mission, Miroku," Sango suggested. Miroku raised his eyebrows as he thought the prospect over. He didn't have anything better to do, and he had always been one for detective work.

"Fine, I accept," he said, inclining his head toward Sango. "I'll just need you two to be observant of any behavior changes, and we should give a weekly report of what we've discovered…"

"Wow, he is really into this, isn't he?" Shippo whispered to Sango. The demon slayer nodded.

"Apparently," she agreed, a note of bewilderment in her voice. She never thought Miroku was this interested in other people's lives.

"…I think that should cover it," he finished up. Shippo and Sango nodded with smiles, pretending they had paid close attention to Miroku's every word.

While Miroku and the others were plotting their scheme, InuYasha was reclining in his favorite tree on the edge of the forest, staring across the fields sullenly. Ever since Sango had told him that Kagome refused to see him he had been trying to think of a way to fix his problems. So far, nothing had come to mind. How was he supposed to fix a problem this big? He had gone soft on Kikyo after she had almost killed Kagome. Did he really expect anything different?

_"She thinks I don't care about her,"_ he thought despairingly. _"But I do care…it's just…my situation with Kikyo is so complicated right now. I promised I'd protect her from Naraku; I vowed that I would follow her into hell. I can't go back on my word, Kikyo gave her life for me, and I have to return the favor. Whether I want to or not." _Wait a minute…whether he wanted to or not? He always thought that he wanted to be with Kikyo, wherever she went, no matter what happened between them, but had his feelings changed? He never really gave his decision much thought, he just promised to protect Kikyo after he learned that Naraku might have feelings for her too. His avowal had been the result of a bout of jealousy if he got right down to it. Maybe he had made the wrong decision after all. He sighed heavily and clamped his eyes shut against the conflicting emotions rolling around in his head. He didn't know what to do anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: I'm so excited that I actually managed to write four more chapters today. Two updates in one day! Thanks once again, to everyone who's reviewed so far. You're inspiring my muse, and helping me not to fall into writer's block. Hope you enjoy the next four chapters. Happy Reading!--Lothlome**

Chapter 13

The rest of the week passed by rather uneventfully. Kagome seemed to be in better spirits than she had been on the first day she had woken up, but Sango suspected that she was merely putting on a front. At night sometimes when she redressed Kagome's wounds, she could see the sadness in her eyes. She had tried to brooch upon the subject of InuYasha a few times, but she found that he was still a sensitive topic. Kagome was still unwilling to talk about what had happened to her, and InuYasha wasn't saying anything either. Both Miroku and Sango thought maybe they were going to be stuck in between the pair for the rest of their lives.

Meanwhile, InuYasha was becoming even more adamant in his demand to see Kagome. He was tired of being shut out, and he wanted to at least look at her for a few seconds, just to make sure she was okay. Sango, however, had a fury to match InuYasha's at present, and she was more than capable of keeping him out of the hut. She had been furious with him ever since Miroku had told her about his suspicions that Kikyo had been involved in Kagome's injuries, and she was more protective than ever of her friend.

Kagome couldn't help but feel a little guilty as she listened to their daily arguments about her. She could tell that InuYasha was anxious to see her, but she just couldn't bring herself to see him. He had hurt her too much, and the aching in her chest over powered any feelings of guilt. Besides, seeing InuYasha would only remind her of Kikyo, and Kagome still felt anger flare up inside of her chest anytime she thought of the priestess. No, InuYasha would just have to wait until she was good and ready to talk to him.

"Dammit Sango! Let me in!" InuYasha shouted as he tried to push his way past the demon slayer. They had been arguing for over twenty minutes now, and they had fallen into one of their customary wrestling matches. He couldn't believe he wasn't able to overpower her. Well, technically he could if he used his claws or Tetsusaiga, but he wasn't about to seriously injure Sango. _"It would probably just get me into more trouble anyway,"_ he thought bitterly.

"Why don't you just give up, InuYasha?" Sango grunted as she pushed against the hanyou's strength. These fights over visiting Kagome were getting really old, really fast. She understood that Kagome was upset, but she really wished she would give in and just visit the half-demon for a minute or two. Then he might stop acting like such a royal pain in the ass.

"I'm not giving up until I get in to see Kagome," he shot back.

"I've told you already, she still doesn't want to see you," Sango huffed. "You're just going to have to give her some more time."

"I've given her plenty of time. If she's not over it by now, then that's her problem," InuYasha said irritably. Sango rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration. How could someone be this insensitive? It couldn't be a male thing, even Miroku had some shred of sympathy.

"You have no say in how long it takes Kagome to forgive you for _whatever_ you did," Sango said, giving him a cold glare. "You can't tell Kagome what her feelings are." InuYasha rolled his eyes. Leave it to women to get all emotional, and talk about their _feelings._ He was getting sick of all this. Didn't his persistence prove to Kagome that he was sorry and wanted to talk about what had gone on the other day? How was he supposed to explain himself if Kagome wouldn't even talk to him?

He couldn't worry about that at the moment, he was too busy trying to get rid of Sango. He had to find some way to overpower her. His original plan had been to lure her away from the hut somehow and then once she wasn't guarding the doorway anymore run in and force Kagome to talk to him. Unfortunately, that idea didn't get very far, and he was forced to resort to his usual methods. At the moment Sango had a death grip on his arms, which kept him from making a run for it.

"All right, look," he said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. This proved to be a difficult action. "What if I went in to see Kagome while she was sleeping?" Sango raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" she asked incredulously. If she didn't know any better, she would think InuYasha was trying to reason with her.

"I'll go in to visit Kagome while she's asleep," InuYasha repeated. "That way I get to see her, but she doesn't have to see me." He smirked in satisfaction as he saw Sango's eyes widen in surprise at his logic. There was no way she could say 'no' to him after that display of intellect.

"Nice try InuYasha, but you're still not allowed to see Kagome," Sango snapped.

"What?" he demanded. "But I—"

"I'm not betraying Kagome's trust like that. She's expecting me to protect her, and I'm not going to go back on my word," Sango said acidly. InuYasha balked at her statement. It was almost like she knew exactly what happened with Kikyo.

_"But that's impossible,"_ he told himself. _"I haven't told anyone, and neither has Kagome. There's no way Sango could know about it." _He felt a pang of guilt in his stomach, and this led to him becoming even angrier than he was before. "Fine Sango, do whatever the hell you want. I don't care!" he shouted as he shoved her off him, sending her tumbling back a few paces. He then turned on his heel and stalked off in the direction of the Bone Eater's well.

_"Well that could have gone better,"_ Sango thought as she rubbed her sore shoulders. She had a feeling InuYasha's temper was only going to get worse as the days went on. If he got angry enough she wouldn't be able to keep him away from the hut anymore, unless she used her Hiriakotsu, which she wouldn't consider in a thousand years. She was trying to keep InuYasha away from Kagome, not kill the poor guy.

InuYasha was storming through the fields blindly, once again trying to come up with a way to get in to see Kagome. Just as he approached his favorite tree he came upon Miroku.

"I see you've failed to get past Sango," Miroku said lightheartedly. InuYasha scowled at him and slumped down onto the ground near the monk, who was leaning against a nearby tree. "Don't feel bad InuYasha, Sango is a strong woman, you shouldn't be ashamed that you couldn't over power her."

"Geez Miroku, you think that's what's bothering me? You're stupider than I thought you were houshi," he mumbled. Miroku merely smiled. InuYasha had no idea how easy he was to manipulate. "Besides, I could get past Sango if I wanted to, I just don't want to hurt her, that's all," he added.

"I see," Miroku said with a slight nod.

"I'm just mad because no one will let me see Kagome," InuYasha continued on, almost as if Miroku wasn't there and he was venting his frustrations to the wilderness. "I know she's upset with me, but how in the hell am I supposed to apologize if she won't let me talk to her. Does she expect me to communicate to her with my mind or something? I mean, yeah, I guess she has a reason to be angry at me this time, but what am I supposed to do now? Dammit…WHY WON'T SHE JUST LET ME APOLOGIZE SO WE CAN MOVE ON WITH OUR LIVES!" InuYasha jumped up with clenched fists and began hyperventilating.

"So you have reason to apologize, do you?" Miroku asked calmly. InuYasha cringed at the sound of Miroku's voice. He had obviously forgotten that the monk was standing there. He turned around and looked at the man beside him as a growing blush crept over his cheeks.

"What? No, I didn't do anything," he lied nervously, but Miroku could see right through him. He had already given away too much.

"What happened between you and Kagome, InuYasha?" Miroku asked, his tone and expression suddenly becoming very serious.

"Nothing!" InuYasha said defensively.

"Stop lying InuYasha, I know something happened. Do you take me for a simpleton?" Miroku said, the frustration leaking into his voice against his will. InuYasha always had a way of trying his patience.

"Look, what happened between me and Kagome is none of your business, Miroku, so why don't you just butt out?" InuYasha demanded angrily. "Dammit you piss me off sometimes," he added in an undertone.

"I'm afraid it is my business InuYasha, seeing as both you and Kagome are my friends," Miroku replied reasonably. InuYasha glared at him but remained silent. Miroku sighed in exasperation. Obviously trying to talk to InuYasha now was a complete waste of his time. The hanyou was in no mood to discuss his problem, and he was already angry enough as it was because he had once again been kept from Kagome. Miroku supposed he should just head back to the hut and try to work out a new plan with Sango and Shippo. "Fine InuYasha, I'll leave you alone for now. You obviously need time to yourself," Miroku told him before heading off. InuYasha growled incoherently for a few minutes before flopping back in the grass. He really hated people today.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After driving InuYasha off Sango returned to the hut to find Shippo and Kagome spending the afternoon together. Kagome had moved from her mat and was leaning against the far wall for support as she chatted with Shippo lightheartedly. The kitsune was on his stomach drawing some pictures.

"Glad to see you can finally move around Kagome," Sango said with a smile as she went to the fire to start making some stew.

"Yeah, it's not very far from the mat to the wall, but I figure it's some progress," Kagome said optimistically.

"Was InuYasha trying to get in again?" Shippo asked casually as he scribbled away on his piece of paper. Sango nodded and cast a wary look over at Kagome. Just mentioning InuYasha seemed to cast a shadow over her friend's countenance. Sango decided not to try and convince her to meet with InuYasha just now. She was sure the subject would be a painful one, and Kagome probably wouldn't want to discuss it in front of Shippo.

Twilight soon fell and it was once again time to redress Kagome's wounds, but when Sango went to go retrieve some bandages she found that they had run out.

"I guess I'll have to get some from Kaede," she told them after a few minutes of fruitless searching.

"I'll go with you Sango," Shippo exclaimed as he slurped down the remains of his stew. "We'll be back in a few minutes Kagome." She smiled at them as they left and stared at the swinging doormat for a few seconds after they had gone. Kagome felt a sense of loneliness overwhelm her with the exit of her friends. Ever since she had been injured she had been more susceptible to small bouts of depression. She tried to fight against it, but it was hard sometimes when she was cramped up in the hut hour after hour.

Also, something other than loneliness was starting to pull at her chest. She realized that she was going to have to see InuYasha eventually, and probably sooner rather than later. She knew she couldn't keep forcing the others to guard her from him, it wasn't fair. This was her problem, not theirs, and she felt like she had been taking advantage of their generosity. Still, she didn't know how she was going to face him again. They were probably going to get into a huge fight, and she would end up going home…maybe for good this time. She was tired of being second best, of trying to convince herself that she could deal with her feelings, just as long as she could be near him. She couldn't change his mind about Kikyo, and she couldn't convince him that maybe he and Kikyo had been separated for a reason. It was too much to handle, and she was starting to think she should never have tried to undertake the job in the first place.

_"I just want to go home," _she thought sadly as tears welled up in her eyes. Suddenly she heard the mat over the door rustle and she quickly blinked her tears away. She couldn't let Sango or Shippo see her like this. Once she was sure her eyes were dry she looked up, but it wasn't Sango and Shippo standing in the doorway…it wasn't even Miroku.

"Inu…Yasha…"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

After spending an hour agonizing over his predicament, and Miroku's accusations InuYasha finally stood up and headed back to the hut. It was starting to get dark and he could go for some dinner. He supposed he could always make a fresh attempt at trying to get into the hut tomorrow morning, even though Sango was probably going to find some way to keep him out. He didn't want to get too far down that line of thought, he knew he would just end up getting himself angry again, and he had spent the last hour trying to calm himself down…well, for the most part. He was still a little pissed at Miroku, truth be told.

As he approached the hut he could see Miroku sitting outside meditating. He then saw Sango and Shippo come outside. They exchanged a few words and then Miroku got up and accompanied Sango and Shippo into the main part of the village. InuYasha felt his heartbeat quickening as he watched the scene unravel before him. He couldn't believe his luck. They probably thought he was still sulking in the forest, so they had no reservations about leaving the hut unattended. Now was his chance, he could finally go and see Kagome.

Once he was sure the others were out of sight he slowly stalked over to the doorway. He took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. Kagome was probably going to be furious with him when he came inside, but he didn't care. He had to see her. He had to make sure she was okay. He took one last deep breath and pushed the mat hanging over the door aside, ignoring the fact that his heart was pounding at a thousand beats per second.

His eyes immediately fell on Kagome, she was sitting against the wall directly across from him, staring into her lap. InuYasha felt his insides melting as he looked at her. She had a kimono thrown over her shoulders, but it was open so that her bandages were exposed. Since they hadn't been changed in a few hours blood and puss were starting to leak through them. InuYasha was starting to feel sick to his stomach. He had never seen Kagome this hurt before, and he hated knowing that it was his fault. What had been going on in his head that day?

Suddenly Kagome's head shot up, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw him staring down at her. InuYasha's stomach clenched painfully. He wondered what was going to happen next. He really didn't feel like fighting with her, for once it seemed like he didn't have the strength to.

"Inu…Yasha…" she whispered in astonishment.

"Kagome…" he began, and he felt like his mind had been wiped blank of all thought. He had gone over what he was going to say to her when he finally saw her again a dozen times, but now he couldn't remember a single word.

"What are you doing in here InuYasha?" Kagome demanded angrily, her face becoming hard and her voice harsh. "I thought I said I didn't want to see you right now." InuYasha's shoulders drooped and he pressed his ears flat against his head. He had known that already, but for some reason it sounded a lot worse when Kagome said it herself. "Just go away," she said as she slowly started to rise. The effort proved to be too much for her, and she winced with every attempt to straighten herself out. Finally she settled with crawling back to her mat.

"Kagome…you're in pain," he said quietly as he moved farther into the room to help her. Kagome rolled her eyes and bit her lip as a burning sensation went through her torso.

_"Of course I'm in pain, Kikyo turned me into a human pin cushion,"_ she thought dryly. "I'm fine," she told him, drawing herself out of his reach. "How did you get in here anyway?"

"The others went up to the village," he responded. Kagome sighed heavily. She knew that their protection couldn't last forever, but still, she wished that it could have. "Look, InuYasha, I have nothing to say to you. So why don't you just—"

"I had to see you, Kagome," he told her quietly, before she could get out another word. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't been expecting to hear that.

_"He must've really been worried about me, he never says things like that,"_ Kagome thought. _"But I can't let my guard down. I'm not going to forgive him so easily this time…not after everything he did."_ She finally made it to her mat and tried to ease herself down under her blankets. InuYasha kneeled beside her.

"I had to make sure you were okay," he said, looking at her intently. Kagome's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. The way he was looking at her made her seriously uncomfortable. It was like he was trying to read her mind or something.

"Why, because you felt guilty?" she demanded, and this time it was InuYasha's turn to color and look away. Kagome glared at him. If he thought this was going to convince her to forgive him, he had another thing coming. "You don't care about me at all, do you?" She had been thinking this for days now, but saying it out loud gave it a strange truth. Kagome could feel her spirits slowly starting to sink.

"What? No—that's not—I mean I—" he began to sputter. Kagome sighed heavily and sank down under her blankets.

"Save it InuYasha," she said, her voice laced with despair. She turned onto her side so that her back was facing him. It caused her a considerable amount of pain, but she couldn't bear to look at him anymore.

"No Kagome, wait a minute," he started to protest. This wasn't how this was supposed to go.

"InuYasha…sit…" Kagome said disconsolately. InuYasha felt the beads give their usual pull, but he was surprised that he was not even forced all the way down to the floor.

_"What's going on?"_ he thought in confusion. _"Why aren't the beads working right?" _ He cast a sidelong glance over at the disheartened Kagome. She didn't even notice that he hadn't face planted like he normally did. Was she that upset? Was that why the beads had stopped working? He would rather Kagome 'sit' him a hundred times in a row then have her lying there like that. She looked so helpless.

InuYasha quietly made his way out of the hut and slumped a few paces away before he collapsed down in the grass. What was he going to do? Kagome wouldn't listen to a word he had to say, and worse than that, he didn't even know what he could say to console her if she was willing to listen. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't push Kikyo out of his heart completely, and he knew that was what Kagome probably wanted.

_"Does she really expect me to do that?...There's no way…I can't just forget about Kikyo, no matter how hard I try. Kagome said she understood that…but maybe she has finally lost patience with me. I just don't know anymore."_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Sango, Miroku, and Shippo all returned from Kaede's a half hour later, and they found InuYasha lying out on the lawn in front of the hut, staring up at the sky, looking extremely dejected. Sango exchanged a knowing look with Miroku before she headed inside to tend to Kagome.

"Come along Shippo," Miroku said as he headed over to the hanyou. "We'd better see if there's anything we can do for him." They approached InuYasha and sat down beside him, but he didn't even seem to realize they were there.

"Are you okay, InuYasha?" Shippo asked in concern. The half-demon sighed heavily but said nothing. Miroku looked over at Shippo with an eyebrow raised. He was certainly acting odd.

"Why so down InuYasha?" Miroku inquired, hoping that this time he would get a response. His wish was granted, but Miroku wasn't pleased with what he heard.

"I went in to talk to Kagome," InuYasha admitted. He seemed so depressed that he wasn't even worried about how furious everyone would be with him.

"You what?" Miroku shouted in outrage. "What'd you do that for? I thought we told you Kagome didn't want to talk to you. I can't believe you went behind our backs!" InuYasha let out another heavy sigh. Shippo pulled a face and looked over at Miroku. InuYasha was really starting to scare the young kitsune. He wasn't used to him acting so…passive. Shippo had to admit, he preferred the old temperamental InuYasha to this new one. At least when he was angry you could tell what was going on in his head.

"I know, but I couldn't help it. I had to talk to Kagome," he told them, in the same morose tone. Miroku groaned and buried his head in his hands. He couldn't believe this.

"And what did you say to her, InuYasha?" Miroku asked, trying to keep his tone calm and failing miserably. He could only imagine what the strain of the argument had done to Kagome.

"Not much…she wouldn't listen to me," he replied. "She 'sat' me too."

"Oh really? I suppose there was an argument then," Miroku reasoned. At least things were taking a somewhat normal turn. He could handle arguments, he couldn't, however, handle this strange new InuYasha. He wasn't used to the hanyou displaying his feelings…at least not intentionally.

"No argument," InuYasha told him, and both Shippo and Miroku gawked at this.

"You guys didn't fight?" Shippo said in shock. "What happened then?"

"Nothing really, I told you she wouldn't listen to me," InuYasha said simply.

"This is really starting to be too much, InuYasha," Miroku said in annoyance. "Would you please just explain to us what happened the day Kagome was attacked? Then maybe we can make sense of all this." InuYasha stood up, and looked out across the fields. He didn't even seem to hear Miroku's statement.

"I think I'll sleep in the woods tonight and try to think this out," he announced. With that said he walked slowly toward his destination. Miroku could feel his eyes popping out of his head as he watched the hanyou leave. What the hell was going on? He looked over at Shippo, but the kitsune seemed just as flabbergasted.

"What is wrong with him?" Shippo said rhetorically. "It's like someone took all the emotion out of him or something."

"He is acting odd," Miroku agreed. "I wonder what Kagome said to him."

"Whatever it was, it looks like he really took it to heart," Shippo said reasonably. Miroku nodded.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: Sorry, only a three chapter update this time instead of four. I think my muse is starting to resent me for overworking her, so I've decided to give her a break before she develops a growing resentment and I end up with writer's block. Hope you enjoy the next three chapters, and I'll be working hard to get four chapters out for the next update. As usual, I want to thank everyone who's reviewed. You guys rock! Your reviews are what's helping me to write so much. So thanks for all the support and inspiration. Happy Reading! --Lothlome**

Chapter 17

After her conversation with InuYasha, Kagome was more confused than ever. InuYasha was obviously concerned about her, and he even seemed to be sorry for what had happened, but Kagome just couldn't forgive him this time. She wanted to believe that he cared about her, but she knew the minute Kikyo appeared again InuYasha would forget all about her.

_"Face it Kagome, you've never been anything more than a replacement,"_ she thought bitterly as she stared into the fire. She hadn't moved from her bed all day, and she had refused to visit with anyone except Sango, who had to come in and dress her wounds twice a day. Other than that Kagome spent her time alone, trying to figure out what she was going to do once she had healed.

Sango had no idea what to say to comfort her friend. She had heard the whole story of InuYasha breaking in to see Kagome while they were at the village from Miroku, and her level of anger toward the hanyou had increased tenfold. He was such an insensitive jerk. She had asked Miroku what their next step should be, but the monk was as much at loss for what to do as she was. He merely told her that they couldn't do anything until they found out what happened the day Kagome was attacked. After they had that information they could get mad at the correct parties accordingly, and perhaps beat the shit out of InuYasha in the process. Sango was looking forward to the last part.

Sango had just finished bandaging Kagome up as darkness fell over the sky. She gave her friend some dinner, and was extremely surprised when Kagome stood up from her place without the slightest bit of discomfort and headed toward the door.

"Kagome…you can move around again?" Sango said in astonishment. Kagome just nodded. "But you shouldn't be up; Kaede said you needed to rest for awhile."

"I'm fine Sango," Kagome assured her. "I just want to go out for some fresh air. I'll be back soon, I promise." With that Kagome walked through the doorway and out into the cool night air.

Kagome inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as the wind caressed her tired body. It felt so good to be able to move again. That was one good thing that had resulted from her discussion with InuYasha, for some reason, seeing him again had given her the will power to get up and work her way through the pain.

"Kagome, you're walking again," Shippo observed happily. Kagome opened her eyes and glanced to her right. It was the first time she had noticed both Miroku and Shippo sitting around a fire near the hut.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better now," she told them with a small smile. "I'm going for a little walk; I'll be back in a few minutes." The other two nodded and watched her go with pensive expressions on their faces. Shippo was too excited that Kagome was better to worry about her situation with InuYasha at the moment, Miroku, however, saw this as a golden opportunity to finally get some answers.

He slowly stood up and followed the path Kagome had taken across the fields. After a few minutes of walking he found her sitting on the top of a nearby hill, gazing up at the sky, much in the same manner as InuYasha the night before.

"May I join you, Kagome?" Miroku asked kindly as he sat down beside her, placing his staff across his lap. Kagome blinked a few times, and looked over at Miroku with a smile to hide her surprise. _"She must have been so lost in thought that she didn't even realize I was here." _

"Sure," she told him. "I was just thinking…"

"About InuYasha?" Miroku asked knowingly. Kagome nodded and looked down at her knees. Miroku looked over at her sympathetically. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like to be in Kagome's situation. He wished there was something he could do for her. "Kagome…what happened the day you were attacked? I know it's a difficult topic for you, but the others and I—"

"That's okay Miroku, I'll tell you," she said quietly. Miroku's eyes widened in surprise. He had _hoped _Kagome would answer his question, he just never really expected it. He took a deep breath and looked at Kagome intently. He wanted to make sure the tale was given his undivided attention, seeing as this was probably going to be the only time he ever heard the story.

"You're very brave, Kagome," Miroku said, in an attempt to make her feel better. She just smiled sadly and looked out across the fields. Everyone had been more than patient with her, and she decided it was finally time to tell them what had happened, exactly as it had happened.

"All right, after I was separated from you guys I decided to try and make it back to the battlefield. I was trying to make my way through the forest, but then one of Kikyo's soul collectors flew past me. I was curious, so I turned around and headed in the direction it had gone. A few minutes later I came into this clearing, and Kikyo was there with her bow drawn." Here Kagome stopped and took a deep breath to try to calm herself. Her throat was starting to tighten uncomfortably, and she could feel tears burning behind her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to look at Miroku as she continued on with her story, she was sure the look on his face was only going to make it more difficult. "She…she attacked me…"

Miroku's eyes widened in complete disbelief. Kikyo had _attacked_ Kagome? He knew the priestess had been involved somehow, but he would never have guessed that she had actually tried to kill Kagome. The thought made his blood boil.

"I could barely dodge her arrows because I was already weakened by the blow of the bear demon. She told me that Naraku has sent her to kill me, and that the demons were just a distraction to keep everyone busy while she finished me off for good," Kagome explained as tears filled the bottoms of her eyes. The memories of that day were passing before her eyes with piercing clarity. She had been reliving these moments every time she closed her eyes, but it was even harder when she had to listen to herself talk about them. "She had already hit me a few times, and I thought I was a goner, but then InuYasha came…. At first he was angry, but then Kikyo said something about me being an obstacle between them, and then InuYasha started sympathizing with her. He started to tell her that he had always cared about her and…" Kagome felt herself choking on her words and warm tears began to spill down her cheeks. She felt Miroku place an arm around her shoulder in a way of comfort, and she found the strength to continue.

"He told her that I'd never been an issue at all…. I wanted to leave, I didn't want to hear anymore, but I was too weak to move. And then InuYasha…InuYasha…"

"What did he do Kagome?" Miroku asked solemnly. It was the first time he had spoken since she started her tale. She took a deep breath and tried to swallow down the sobs that were slowly escaping her lips.

"He kissed her," she said, burying her face in her hands and losing herself in a world of tears.

"He did what?" Miroku said in outrage. _"No wonder InuYasha lied to us about what happened…no wonder he was ashamed. Even I wouldn't stoop to something so low and disgraceful. What had that bastard been thinking?"_

"That was the last thing I saw before I passed out, the next thing I remember is waking up in the hut," Kagome said through her tears. She felt a great wave of relief wash over her as she finished telling her story. It was over, she had finally told someone and now she could try and move past the whole ordeal. "Oh Miroku…" she sobbed, clutching onto his robes and burying her face in his shoulder. "I just want to go home…. Sometimes I wish I had never met InuYasha." She continued to cry into the monk's shoulder, and Miroku just rubbed her back sympathetically as he thought her story over. This was by far the worst thing InuYasha had ever done in his life. How could he betray Kagome like that? Miroku decided that he was going to have to have a talk with the hanyou about this, but first he had to tell Sango and Shippo about what he had learned.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"He kissed her?" exclaimed both Sango and Shippo in shock after Miroku had finished relating the story told to him by Kagome.

"That's what I was told, and I doubt Kagome would lie about such a thing," Miroku said with a solemn nod. Sango clenched her fists and felt all the blood rush to her head. She was going to kill that hanyou.

"I can't believe him!" she shouted in outrage as she jumped to her feet. "He kissed Kikyo after she tried to _kill_ Kagome? He's a lot stupider than I thought he was. I'm going to wring his neck!" She started into the hut to get her Hiriakotsu but Miroku grabbed the back of her kimono to stop her.

"Let go of me Miroku!" she said angrily as she tried to break free from his grip.

"I'm just as mad as you are, Sango," Miroku told her, "but we can't just run off and attack InuYasha. This situation has to be handled delicately." Sango exhaled heavily in annoyance and glared over at the houshi. She was tired of all the mind games. She thought they should just confront InuYasha, tell him he was a jerk, and then proceed to beat the living hell out of him. That would teach him to toy with Kagome's heart like that, and then maybe he'd think twice before sympathizing with Kikyo.

"What do you suggest then Miroku?" she asked grudgingly.

"I don't have a plan yet, Kagome only told me the story an hour ago," Miroku admitted. "I was hoping you and Shippo might be able to come up with something."

"I'm with Sango, I say we beat some sense into InuYasha," Shippo said hotly, like Sango, he had also taken this news of Kagome's betrayal very personally. Miroku sighed in exasperation. Was everyone he knew hot-tempered?

"We can't do that," he said reasonably. "If we want to fix the problem, we have to talk to InuYasha rationally and try to get him to understand what he did wrong."

"He doesn't realize that what he did was wrong?" Sango yelled. "That's it—" She once again tried to make a dash for her Hiriakotsu, but Miroku had her pinned to his chest and she was unable to move.

"Please Sango, you have to try and control yourself," Miroku said serenely at the same time that his hand slowly slid down her backside. Sango's eyes widened and she grabbed Miroku's arm, twisted it around and pinned it behind his back.

"You should try following your own advice sometime, you hentai," she said threateningly. Miroku whimpered and Shippo watched the tears of pain leak out of the corners of his eyes in amusement.

_"That's what you get for being such a pervert,"_ the kitsune thought reproachfully.

"Uh…Sango…my arm?" Miroku reminded her, trying to hold back the screams of pain threatening to burst forth from his lips. Sango cast him one last icy glare before releasing him. Miroku sank down to his knees and panted heavily as he rubbed his arm in an effort to dull the throbbing.

"Fine, Miroku, I won't kill InuYasha…_yet_," she added with an eyebrow raise. "But if you don't come up with a good plan soon then I am going after him with my Hiriakotsu." With that Sango turned on her heel and stalked back inside the hut to spend some time consoling Kagome. Miroku was still trying to rub the feeling back into his arm.

"Serves you right, Miroku," Shippo scolded.

"It was worth it my young friend," Miroku said with a grin.

"You'd better not let Sango hear you saying that," Shippo warned before lying back in the grass to try and get some sleep. Miroku shrugged and arranged himself so that he was sitting cross-legged in front of the fire.

_"She should consider it a compliment," _he thought matter-of-factly. _"I wouldn't grace just anyone's bottom with this hand." _He sighed and massaged his eyebrows. He supposed he should spend less time fantasizing about Sango's backside and more time worrying about what he was going to do to help InuYasha and Kagome.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The next morning Kagome woke up with a splitting headache, though that didn't surprise her much seeing as she had spent most of last night crying. She had been extremely appreciative of both Miroku and Sango's sympathy. It felt good to finally be able to talk to someone about what was bothering her. Also, last night she had come to her final decision about what she was going to do.

She was going home…for good this time. In fact, she was leaving the Shikon jewel shards here so she wouldn't have to worry about returning them once she got home. This wasn't a rash decision on her part, she had spent a lot of time thinking about it while she lay in the hut recovering. She just couldn't do it anymore. She had tried to stay with InuYasha even though she knew his heart belonged to Kikyo, but she just couldn't stay with him knowing that there was no chance for her at all.

_"I tried,"_ she thought as she eased herself into some fresh clothes. _"I just couldn't make it work. It's for the best anyway." _She took a last look around the hut before stepping out into the bright sunshine. She wasn't planning on leaving right away, she still wasn't strong enough to make a journey through the well, besides, she needed some time to say goodbye to everyone.

"Where's InuYasha?" Kagome asked. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo all exchanged confused looks.

"He went off to the forest two days ago, we haven't seen him since then," Sango told her. "Are you sure you want to go looking for him, Kagome? You've only just recovered."

"I'll be fine," she waved them off. "Besides, I need to talk to him." She headed off in the direction of the forest and tried to decide where to search for the hanyou first.

Ten minutes later Kagome found InuYasha sitting beside the Bone Eater's well staring down at the grass unhappily. Kagome felt a pang of guilt in her stomach at the sight of him. He really did look miserable.

_"I guess you should have thought about that before you went and kissed Kikyo,"_ she thought angrily. With this thought in mind Kagome headed over to InuYasha with her head held high. She wasn't going to let him manipulate her into staying. She had made up her mind and she wasn't about to go back on her avowal.

InuYasha glanced up at the sound of her footsteps and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Kagome…what are you doing here?" he asked standing up.

"I came to talk to you," she told him. He looked at her expectantly, wondering what he was in for. "I've been thinking a lot about what happened between you and Kikyo the other day, and about what she did to me and I realized something. I can't stay here anymore. I tried to convince myself that being with you is enough, but it's not. So I've decided…I'm going back home." InuYasha felt like the bottom of his stomach had just dropped out. Did she just say that she was going home? Forever?

"You're leaving…for good?" he asked slowly, wondering if he had heard wrong. Kagome nodded.

"Yeah, as soon as I'm well enough," she replied. InuYasha blinked hard and stared at her for a few seconds. She had to be joking. She couldn't leave, he didn't know what he would do without her. InuYasha felt his body starting to quake and he clenched his fists in an effort to get himself back under control. He wanted to tell Kagome how he felt, and how much she meant to him, but as usual anger flared up inside him, overpowering any other emotions he was feeling.

"You can't leave! We need you to find the rest of the jewel shards! You can't just abandon us!" he accused. _"Wait…shit…that's not what I meant to say."_ Kagome's eyes hardened.

"Typical! All you care about are your precious jewel shards," she shouted angrily, though on the inside she felt her heart breaking all over again. "I knew it, you don't care about me! All this time I've just been your shard detector…your replacement for Kikyo…"

"That's not—" InuYasha began to argue, but Kagome cut him off.

"I can't believe I thought I needed to explain myself to you!" she continued. "And you know what? I'm not sorry that I'm leaving you. I don't know why I wanted to spend so much time around such an thoughtless jerk anyway!" She turned on her heel and stormed back toward the village, but not before shouting a 'sit' command back at the hanyou.

_"I guess I deserved that,"_ InuYasha thought as his face collided with the ground. _"Why did I have to bring up the jewel shards? That's not why I want her to stay. What the hell am I going to do now?" _As much as he didn't want to admit it, InuYasha knew he needed some advice, but he didn't know who to turn to. He struggled to his feet and slowly made his way back to the village behind Kagome. Who would be willing to listen to him complain about his problems and be able to give him some halfway decent advice? Only one name came to mind.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: I have a five chapter update this time to make up for yesterday's three chapter one. I hope you guys are still enjoying the story, and thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. I can't tell everyone enough how much I appreciate it. Also, on another note, school starts again for me this Thursday (gags) because for some reason Florida has to have the shortest summer break in the entire Union. So unfair...anyway, I don't know how consistent my updating will be once school starts up again, so I just wanted to give you a heads up. I'll still try to update at least twice a week, and maybe more depending on my workload and swim practice (this has started up once again too...I can't even begin to express my joy...eyeroll...), it just won't be everyday like I've been doing. All right, with that being said...on to the fic! Hope you enjoy it and Happy Reading!  
****--Lothlome**

Chapter 20

InuYasha never got a chance to speak with Miroku like he had planned, because the minute he returned to the hut Sango came flying out at him with her Hiriakotsu in tow. She was screaming something about Kikyo and betraying Kagome. From what he could gather from her ranting, Kagome had finally cracked and told everyone what had happened. And worse than that, she had seen the kiss. It was all the hanyou could do to escape. He had taken refuge at Kaede's for the time being, and at the moment he was sitting on the fence that enclosed Kaede's herb garden as the priestess harvested some plants. He'd decided that since he couldn't talk to Miroku, Kaede would have to do. Besides, she'd given him some relatively good advice before. He'd never taken it, but that wasn't really the point.

"So Kaede…I was wondering if you could help me out with somethin'," he began tentatively.

"Spare your breath, InuYasha, Shippo already told me about your predicament with Kagome," Kaede told him pointedly. InuYasha scowled.

_"Stupid Shippo and his big mouth,"_ he thought irritably. "So…you know the whole story then?"

"Yes InuYasha," Kaede said gravely, "and I have to say that I am shocked by your behavior. I realize ye still harbor deep feelings for my sister, but I would never expect ye to abandon Kagome when she was in danger."

"I didn't abandon her!" InuYasha shouted defensively. "I stopped Kikyo from killing her, didn't I?"

"Yes, but I don't think your methods were appreciated by young Kagome," Kaede countered. InuYasha's face flushed a deep shade of red and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Look, I did what I could, okay? I didn't want to kill Kikyo," InuYasha responded. Kaede remained silent and continued to collect her herbs. "Well what do you think I should have done then? Since you know everything."

"For one thing, I don't think ye should have kissed Kikyo," Kaede said sternly.

"I didn't kiss her!" InuYasha shouted in outrage. "She kissed me! I would never do something like that to Kagome. I'm not that stupid."

"Have ye tried explaining this toKagome?" Kaede asked reasonably.

"No, every time I try Kagome gets all emotional on me," InuYasha said with disdain. "Besides, even if I did tell her what happened she probably wouldn't forgive me anyway. She told me she was going home for good this time, she's had enough of me." He felt his heart slowly sinking in his chest. Kagome's words had really stung.

_"She regrets every minute she ever spent with me," _he thought sadly. _"Who could blame her? I've never been as nice to her as I should have. And after all this trouble with Kikyo…no wonder she wants to go home." _

"Well, InuYasha ye made your decision to protect Kikyo, and now ye must live with the consequences," Kaede told him. This wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear. "I doubt there is a simple solution to your problem with Kagome, but I do know that apologizing for what ye did is a good start."

"Why should I—I didn't do anything!" he yelled. He hated apologizing.

"Well explain ye-self then," Kaede snapped irritably. "It's the least ye can do." Kaede stoop up with her basket of herbs and headed back to her hut. InuYasha stood up and followed her inside. Once again Kaede was giving good advice that his pride was telling him to ignore. But he knew he had to do something, and quickly before Kagome walked out on him forever.

"I can't believe she's leaving!" Shippo cried pounding his fists on the ground. Kagome had just broken the news to Miroku, Sango, and Shippo before she headed inside to get some rest. Shippo felt like his whole world was crashing in on him. Kagome had been a great comfort to him on their adventures, almost like a second mother. He didn't know what he would do if she left them forever. _"Stupid InuYasha! This is all his fault!"_

"What are we going to do Miroku?" Sango asked desperately. "I think Kagome's serious about leaving this time. We have to find a way to convince her to stay."

"Is that really the fair thing to do?" Miroku said seriously." It wouldn't beright for us to try and guilt Kagome into staying with us while she was slowly being tortured by the presence of InuYasha. Maybe she is better off going home."

"Are you crazy, Miroku?" Sango demanded. "We need Kagome here. How can we hope to defeat Naraku without her? Besides, she's our friend. Do you really want to lose her forever?"

"Kagome has been more than patient with InuYasha," Miroku countered, "and she's received nothing but frustration and heartbreak for her efforts. I care about Kagome as well, which is why I'm willing to let her go. She deserves her chance at happiness." Sango and Shippo looked at each other guiltily. Miroku was right; Kagome didn't deserve to be tortured just because they were being selfish. They nodded at each other and exchanged the silent understanding that they would try to follow Miroku's example.

"So that's it then?" Sango said sadly as tears filled her eyes. "We're giving up?"

"I'm afraid so, Sango," Miroku said solemnly, looking out across the fields with a hardened expression. It was time to let Kagome go.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Kagome slung her pack over her shoulders and took a deep breath. This was it, she was finally going home. She walked across the fields slowly, drinking in every last aspect of a Japan untouched by commerce, technology, and a society driven by business. This place had been her escape, she realized, and now she was finally leaving her day dream behind and forcing herself to become part of the real world.

She was surprised that she had already come upon the well. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even paid attention to where her feet had taken her. As surprised as she was to have gotten to the well, she was even more shocked to see Miroku, Sango, and Shippo standing there waiting for her.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked with wide eyes. Sango offered her a small smile.

"We couldn't let you leave without saying one last goodbye," the demon slayer told her friend. Kagome felt her eyes well up with tears. She couldn't believe she was leaving her friends forever. This was the last time they were all going to be together.

"I'll miss you, Sango, you've been such a good friend," Kagome told her as the two girls exchanged a warm hug. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"You too Kagome," Sango said with a sniffle. "I'll never forget how kind you were to me." Kagome managed a weak smile as she felt her throat tightening.

"Don't go Kagome!" Shippo shouted jumping into her arms, no longer able to contain himself. "We need you here!"

"I'm sorry Shippo," Kagome apologized sadly. "I have to go, but you'll see...it'll be better without me."

"I'm going to miss you so much Kagome," Shippo told her as he gave her a final squeeze before he jumped back over to sit on Sango's arm.

"Kagome," Miroku said stepping forward. "I guess this is the end of our adventures together. But I just want you to know, that though you have returned to your own time, you will always be in our hearts." Kagome hastily wiped away a few tears that streamed down her cheeks. She hated goodbyes.

"Thanks Miroku, you guys'll be in my heart too," she told them. She gave Miroku a quick hug, and as they separated they heard a rustling in the bushes and InuYasha appeared. Miroku bowed low in front of Kagome and gave her an encouraging smile.

"I take my leave," he told her. "Come along Sango…Shippo." The three headed off toward the village. InuYasha stepped forward out of the shadow of the trees as the others disappeared around a bend. Kagome felt her heart beat quickening as he approached her. She had no idea what was going to happen. Would they fight again?

"So…you're really leaving then?" InuYasha said solemnly. Kagome nodded. There were so many things he wanted to say, but for some reason his mouth wouldn't let him. What was wrong with him? He was about to lose Kagome for good and he couldn't say a word.

"These are yours now," Kagome said dropping her vial holding the sacred jewel shards into his hand. Kagome felt that this action sealed her fate, without her jewel shards she couldn't return to the Feudal Era. This was the last chapter in her adventures with InuYasha.

"I guess this is goodbye then," InuYasha said heavily as his fingers tightened around the vial. Kagome nodded and she felt warm tears well up in the bottom of her eyes. She was mad at InuYasha to be sure, but that didn't make the goodbye any less painful, in fact, it made it worse.

"Kagome I—" he started to say, but one look at her face caused his mouth to dry out. Without thinking he grabbed Kagome and pulled her into the warmest and deepest he could possibly manage. He couldn't believe this was the last time he was going to touch Kagome…to breathe in her scent…this really was goodbye.

He released her and cast one last look down at her hurt and confused face before he bounded off into the forest. That was all the goodbye he could handle.

Kagome stood there for a moment in a daze. How could he hug her like that after everything that had happened? And he had barely said a word to her. He hadn't even said he would miss her or asked her to stay. Kagome sighed heavily and turned around to face the well. She couldn't be sure she was making the right decision, but this was the only way she could think of to get rid of the pain for good.

Just as she was preparing to jump down into the well she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and saw Miroku sprinting toward her looking frantic.

"What is it Miroku?" she asked in concern.

"I wanted to give you this before you left," he told her, holding out a small red leather pouch with a cord wrapped around it. Kagome looked up at him before slowly unraveling the cord and peering in at the pouch's contents.

"But these are sacred jewel shards," she said in confusion.

"I know, they're the ones I've collected," he told her. "I know you need them to travel back and forth between your era and ours. I was hoping you would keep watch over them for me. I think they would be safer in your hands, and there's less of a chance of Naraku gaining possession of them if they remain with you in your time. Besides, if you ever change your mind and decide you want to return…" Miroku looked at her meaningfully and Kagome nodded to signify she understood. He was giving her a safe guard in case she felt the need to return, and at the same time he was helping her teach InuYasha a lesson.

"Thank you," she said, closing her hand tightly around the small leather pouch.

"Good luck Kagome," Miroku said with a smile before he headed off in the direction of the village. Once he was gone Kagome turned back to the well.

_"This is goodbye I guess,"_ she thought as she jumped down into the darkness.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

InuYasha walked back to the hut with a sinking feeling of dread in his stomach. He had no idea how he was going to face everyone once he got back. They all probably hated him, and he had to admit, he couldn't blame them. He had been the one to push Kagome away.

_"I can't believe I let Kagome go,"_ he thought, getting angrier with himself by the second. _"I couldn't think of one thing to say to make her realize how much I need her to stay with me. I couldn't even apologize. I _am_ an insensitive jerk." _His grip tightened around the vial holding the jewel shards as he traveled farther and farther down his road of despair. He had screwed everything up, all over something stupid…his pride. Looking back on it, he could have apologized if he'd given it a little more effort. He could have told her the night he burst into the hut when Miroku and the others were in the village, or when Kagome told him she was leaving, but he hadn't. The truth was…he didn't want to. He knew he should've apologized, and explained what had happened to Kagome, but once again his stubbornness had gotten the better of him.

He came upon the hut, and found the others sitting outside looking melancholy. The only one who seemed to keep some shred of happiness was Miroku, but even that was a thin veneer.

"Did you say goodbye to Kagome, InuYasha?" Miroku asked casually, almost as if the situation wasn't as nearly life changing as it appeared to be. InuYasha nodded and stared down at the grass beneath his feet.

"Yeah…I did," he told them heavily.

"So she's really gone?" Shippo exclaimed in fury. "You didn't try to stop her?"

"No…why should I have?" InuYasha snapped, folding his hands in the sleeves of his haori and turning his head away from them.

"Why?" Sango shouted, rising angrily with clenched fists. Her entire body was shaking with rage, and even InuYasha began to get a little nervous. Sango was really scary when she was angry, especially when she was swinging her Hiriakotsu around. "WHY? Because you're the reason she left, you JERK!" She threw a punch at his head, but InuYasha ducked just in time. Sango continued to advance on him, growing angrier and angrier with each word that poured forth from her lips. All of the rage she had been holding against InuYasha had finally broken free. She didn't care what Miroku said about discretion, it hadn't worked, and now Kagome was gone, so they were going to try doing things her way now.

"We all know what happened between you and Kikyo while Kagome was dying, you two-faced…cheating…bastard!" Sango screeched. She swung her fists at him wildly, missing most of the time, though her knuckles had made contact with his arms once or twice, and this gave her immense satisfaction. If only she could get her hands on his face… "I don't care who she is, you don't kiss another girl while one of your companions is bleeding to death! You have no soul…no compassion…you are a complete and utter jerk, and I hope you rot in hell!" She gave him a hard kick in the stomach and then proceeded to beat him over the head.

"Sango please…calm down!" Miroku begged. Sango spun on her heel and glared at him with a fire behind her eyes.

"Stay out of this, houshi, or you're next!" she warned. Miroku blanched at this and took a few steps back.

"Right…carry on," he said with a wave of his hand as beads of sweat dripped down the side of his face. _"It's probably best if I just leave them be."_ With Miroku out of the way, Sango turned her attention back to beating the living hell out of InuYasha. The hanyou was sitting on the ground, panting heavily, and looking up at Sango as if she was deranged, but the demon slayer didn't care. InuYasha had been the cause of one of her best friend's unhappiness, and he had been the one to push Kagome out of their lives forever. He deserved this.

"I can't believe that after all Kagome's done for us…for you…that you would let her leave without even so much as an apology! I bet you didn't even give her a proper goodbye! But you know what? WE SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO HAVE SAID GOODBYE IN THE FIRST PLACE! You don't even realize how in love with Kagome you are because you're too busy thinking about Kikyo…KIKYO! She's dead InuYasha…DEAD! She hates you, and her ultimate goal is to drag you down to hell with her so you can burn together! WHAT.THE.HELL? Stop running around being emotionally attached to someone who hates your guts! FORGET ABOUT KIKYO! She wants you dead, but Kagome wants you alive. You'd better go after her and fix this mess, or I will personally KICK YOUR ASS!" With this last statement she gave him a firm kick in the head before storming off into the village. InuYasha just lay there in shock for a while. Miroku and Shippo exchanged wary looks before edging there way over to the hanyou.

"Wow…she is really mad at you," Shippo observed, looking over InuYasha's bruised and battered frame.

"Ya think?" InuYasha growled angrily.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Kagome climbed up the rope ladder leading up from the well into the main well house just as the school bell echoed across the air. She sighed heavily as she padded her way back to her house. She decided to skip school for today, she needed some time to rest, and catch up on her homework. Besides, what was one more day, really? She was going to be back in school for good soon, so she didn't have to worry about missing classes anymore.

She entered the kitchen and found her mother cleaning the breakfast dishes. She smiled at Kagome congenially.

"You're back!" she said happily, in her usual cool and cheerful tones. "How are you feeling?" Kagome sank down in front of the kitchen table and rested her head in her hands. She supposed she should tell her mother what had happened to her the day the bear demons had attacked, though she was going to be sure to leave a few choice details out.

"Listen Mom…there's something you should know," Kagome began slowly. Her mom let the dishes slide back down into the sink full of soapy water and sat down across from her daughter at the table.

"What is it, Kagome?" she asked in concern. Kagome took a deep breath and began to draw small circles on the table with her index finger nervously.

"I don't want you to freak out or anything, because I'm fine now, but I was injured during a battle while we were traveling, and I sustained some serious injuries," Kagome told her, and she watched her mother's eyes widen in alarm. "Don't worry!" she added hastily. "The others got me back to the village right away, and I got some treatment. I'm practically good as new, I just need to keep the bandages on for a few more weeks. I came home to get some rest." Her mom nodded in understanding and placed a hand over her daughter's.

"I'm glad that you're safe Kagome," she said, her eyes shining with a thin layer of tears. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." Kagome offered her mother an encouragingly smile. It was times like this that made her fully appreciate the love her family had for her.

"No need to get all emotional Mom, I told you I'm fine," Kagome said in an effort to keep the conversation light. Her mother giggled and stood up from the table.

"Of course, shall I draw up a bath for you?" she asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Kagome said with a nod. She watched her mom head for the stairs.

"Mom!" she called, and Mrs. Higarashi turned to look back at her daughter with expectant eyes.

"Yes Kagome?"

"Thanks…for everything," Kagome said sincerely. Mrs. Higarashi just smiled and headed upstairs.

After grabbing some food from the refrigerator, Kagome headed up to her room to unpack her bag. She couldn't believe she would never have to carry it around again. No more back breaking pain, no more worrying about having enough clothes and food…she was free. She could finally get back to her normal life. Still, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of loss.

_"Come on, Kagome, get a grip. This is what you wanted, remember?"_ she tried to remind herself. _"You were sick of running around the Feudal Era, trying to collect jewel shards and battle all kinds of demons with the world's biggest jerk. So why are you acting so sad?" _After she finished unpacking her mother announced that her bath was ready.

Kagome entered the bathroom and carefully unwrapped her bandages before she sank down into the steaming water. It felt so nice to be getting clean again. She hadn't been able to take a bath since receiving her injuries, but now the wounds had healed to a point where she could take her bandages off for a while. Kagome spent a full hour in the bathtub, scrubbing away grime, dirt, and congealed blood. Being alone in the bath gave her time to mull over the occurrences of the last few days.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't convince herself that she had made the right decision in coming home forever. She was quite sure that her life would be better without the constant involvement of InuYasha, but still, she had turned her back on a world that was in need of her help.

_"And it was all my fault that the Shikon jewel was shattered,"_ she thought sullenly. _"But no…I can't go back there if it means facing InuYasha. He loves Kikyo, and not me. He made that perfectly clear. Besides, I'm sure he'd rather search for the jewel shards without my help. He's always complaining about what a nuisance I am, and how he's tired of saving me. Yes,"_ she thought determinedly as she stood up and wrapped a towel around herself, _"I'm sure I made the right choice."_


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Once InuYasha had recovered from the beating given to him by Sango he _finally_ went to Miroku to get some long overdue advice. He had given it some thought, and it still wasn't too late to get Kagome to come back. He could still travel through the well, after all, even if she couldn't. Besides, he needed to distract himself from thinking about what Sango had said. He knew she was angry, but that didn't mean her tirade didn't have some truth to it. At the moment he would rather not focus on it, it would only lead him somewhere he did not want to go.

"Miroku…can I talk to you for a second?" InuYasha asked as he approached the monk. Miroku was sitting on the edge of the forest meditating, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Of course, InuYasha," Miroku replied amiably. "What seems to be the trouble?" InuYasha sat down beside the monk, placing his Tetsusaiga carefully in his lap as he did.

"All right, here's the thing," he began. "I've been thinking about…well, a lot of stuff, and I decided that I need to fix this problem with Kagome." Miroku repressed a sigh. It had taken him this long to come to that conclusion? Still, progress was progress, a few months ago InuYasha probably wouldn't even have admitted that he had a problem, so at least they were getting somewhere.

"I agree completely," Miroku said. "How do you plan to go about it?"

"If I knew that I wouldn't have come to you now, would I?" InuYasha said irritably. "I need a little advice on this Miroku. What should I do?"

"InuYasha…I'm flattered that you think so highly of my opinion," Miroku said as he stroked his chin in thought. InuYasha rolled his eyes. If he was going to have to deal with Miroku's ego it wasn't worth it. He could get better advice from Shippo, and without the aggravation.

"Just shut up and tell me what to do, houshi," InuYasha growled.

"Hmm…well if I was in your position… I would have apologized a long time ago, for starters," Miroku said, looking at him pointedly.

"How is this supposed to help me?" InuYasha demanded, gripping Tetsusaiga's sheath angrily.

"It wasn't, I was just making a statement," Miroku replied. InuYasha growled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Stupid monk," he said in an undertone.

"Is that any way to treat the person giving you advice, InuYasha?" Miroku scolded in good nature. The hanyou blanched and turned a light shade of red.

"Would you just advise me already? I've got better things to do with my life!" he shouted in annoyance.

"No need to get so angry, InuYasha," Miroku said in a pacifying tone. This only served to enrage the hanyou further. "I suggest that you first, go to Kagome and apologize for what you did."

"What is with you people?" InuYasha demanded, jumping to his feet. Kaede had given him similar advice the other day. "Why do you assume I have something to apologize for?"

"Because you do, InuYasha," Miroku said, rising as well, and the playful manner had dropped from his side of the conversation. "Or have you forgotten that you kissed Kikyo?" InuYasha clenched his fists and growled angrily.

"I didn't kiss her! She cornered me! I would never kiss Kikyo while Kagome was in danger. Don't you think I have any sense of loyalty at all?" he yelled.

"She kissed you?" Miroku asked in shock, his eyes widening. InuYasha scowled. He was getting really sick of explaining this to people. Not to mention the stupid look on Miroku's face was seriously ticking him off.

"Yes, Miroku, is that so hard to believe?" he spat.

"I'm sorry…it's just all this time I thought…well I assumed that…" Miroku stuttered. "Are you sure that's how it happened?" he asked, giving the hanyou a suspicious look.

"Yes I'm sure that's how it happened! I was there, I think I would know," InuYasha countered.

"Well then you've got to explain this to Kagome right away," Miroku said hurriedly. "She thinks it was the other way around…that you kissed Kikyo. That's why she's been so upset with you." If Miroku expected his words to hearten the half-demon, they didn't. After listening to Miroku's statement InuYasha merely sighed and sank back down onto the grass.

"What's the matter, InuYasha?" Miroku asked in confusion.

"That's not the only reason she's upset with me," InuYasha said quietly. Miroku furrowed his brow. What other reason could there possibly be? Before he could ask anymore questions, however, InuYasha stood up. "I'm going to take a walk. I should be back in time for dinner." He was soon out of sight, and Miroku just stood there in a state of utter amazement.

_"What just happened?"_ he thought in confusion. He sighed and shook his head wearily. He was too tired to deal with this right now. He had been tormenting himself night and day, trying to come up with a solution to patch things up between his two friends and so far nothing had come of his efforts. He thought he deserved a well earned break. Tonight, he was going to focus his attention on reaching another goal—Sango's backside.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: Okay, it's a four chapter update, but these chapters are a little shorter than usual. I think my muse is starting to freak out on me again, so I'm going to give her a little rest. She should be back to normal by tomorrow. Hope you enjoy the next few chapters, and I promise there is going to be some InuKag interaction coming up soon. Happy Reading!--Lothlome**

Chapter 25

After InuYasha had stalked off to find Miroku, Shippo decided he had better go make sure Sango was okay. Unlike the other two, Shippo was confident that Sango wouldn't take out any of her anger on him. Being cute and adorable had its advantages. He found the demon slayer sulking at Kaede's, her eyes were red and puffy from crying, but she looked just as mad as ever. Kaede was nearby preparing some medicine for a child in the village.

"Sango…are you all right?" Shippo asked in concern, his big blue eyes glistening innocently.

"I'm fine, Shippo," she assured him as she sniffled and wiped her eyes. Shippo wasn't so easily convinced.

"I know you're upset about Kagome leaving us, I am too," the kitsune said in an effort to comfort his friend. "And I'm glad someone finally had the courage to put InuYasha in his place, maybe now he'll realize what a jerk he's being."

"Not likely," Sango grumbled, though she felt a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips and soon she heard Shippo chuckle slightly at her comment. She decided she had done enough moping for one day. Besides, she should be feeling pretty pleased with herself right about now, she had finally gotten to beat the crap out of the hanyou. "I guess you're right Shippo, we should try to focus on the positive."

"Exactly," he said with a bright smile.

"So where has our stubborn friend gotten to, anyway?" Sango asked cheerfully. Shippo was glad to see that she was no longer sulking. Even though he was confident Sango would never inflict bodily harm on him, he couldn't help but be a bit nervous around her when she was on an injuring spree.

"The last I saw of him he was limping off to find Miroku," Shippo replied, and Sango smiled in satisfaction.

"Well maybe the monk can talk some sense into him," she said.

"Hopefully, but I have a feeling InuYasha isn't in the mood to listen to take advice," Shippo said reasonably. "He doesn't like hearing the things he needs to." Sango nodded in agreement.

"I guess we'll be heading out to search for jewel shards soon," Sango mused aloud. "Now that Kagome's gone there's no reason for us to stay here anymore." Shippo's eyes widened at this comment. He hadn't thought about that before. He couldn't imagine traveling without Kagome, and he was sure if they set off on their journey once again InuYasha would forget all about trying to make amends with her. Sango seemed to be thinking the same thing as she exchanged a look of foreboding with the kitsune.

"We can't leave yet! What about Kagome?" Shippo demanded. Sango shrugged in defeat.

"I guess we'll have to come up with a reason to stay," she suggested.

"Hmm…I think we're going to have to enlist Miroku on this one," Shippo said thoughtfully. "He's the only one of us with enough guile." Sango nodded and stood up.

"Let's go find him then," she said with a sigh. It never ceased to amaze her how Miroku could act so perverse, yet still state he was a monk without shame. She supposed it was just part of his charm.

They met Miroku halfway between the forest and their hut. He was just heading back from his conversation with InuYasha, and he looked slightly more weary than usual, though he managed a bright smile for his friends.

"Ah…I was just on my way to see you," he said as they approached.

"How's InuYasha?" Sango asked worriedly. Now that she had time to cool off she thought she might have gone a bit overboard on the ass kicking she had given him.

"He's fine…physically anyway," Miroku said as he rubbed his temples tiredly. "Though he won't admit it, I can tell this situation with Kagome has really upset him."

"Miroku, we need your help with something," Shippo told him.

"Happy to be of service, Shippo," the monk replied congenially.

"All right, well we're trying to come up with an excuse to spend a few more weeks in the village. We figure if we keep InuYasha trapped here long enough, he'll finally crack and apologize to Kagome," Shippo explained.

"Yes…I see," Miroku said as he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"So, any suggestions?" Sango asked hopefully.

"A myriad…really you two, sometimes I wish you'd give me more of a challenge," Miroku said pompously. Sango had to restrain the urge to smack him upside the head.

"Could you just tell us, please?" she asked irritably.

"I think the easiest thing to do would be to tell InuYasha that we're still recovering from our latest battle injuries," Miroku said simply.

"That would be great, except we've all basically healed already," Sango countered.

"Yes…but InuYasha doesn't know that, now does he?" the monk said mischievously. Sango and Shippo exchanged wicked grins.

"You're a genius, Miroku," the kitsune told him. Miroku smiled and inclined his head.

"Thank you, Shippo," he said. "I try my best." Sango rolled her eyes.

"Please Shippo…don't stroke his ego, you'll only regret it later," she warned.

"Now Sango, Shippo was merely acknowledging the brilliance of my plan, it would be rude if I did not—"

"Save it," Sango interrupted him. She didn't even want to know where this was going.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

As expected, InuYasha was eager to continue their search for the Shikon jewel shards, though more to distract himself from thinking about Kagome than to actually complete his mission. He wasn't pleased when Sango informed him that her wounds from their last battle were still healing.

"Still?" he demanded in annoyance. "I thought you were fine."

"Yes, well I thought so too, but they re-opened today while I was taking care of a certain half-demon," she said pointedly. InuYasha rolled his eyes; once again he was being blamed for things that weren't his fault.

"They re-opened, did they?" he asked suspiciously. Sango didn't seem any less strong than she had been this morning, and he couldn't smell fresh blood on her.

"Yes, they did," she responded haughtily, glaring up at him. Miroku couldn't help but admire her skill. If he didn't know she was lying he would have been fooled.

_"Yes another hidden talent of our dear Sango,"_ he mused. _"I wonder what other—"_ Miroku shook his head vigorously and tried to focus on the scene in front of him. He probably shouldn't be thinking about _that_ just now. They had more pressing problems at the moment.

"Mind if I take a look?" InuYasha asked menacingly. Sango's eyes narrowed angrily and she gave InuYasha a hard smack across the face. The hanyou was knocked backwards by the force of the blow and he lay on the ground in a crumpled heap. He seemed to be spending a lot of time on the ground today.

"I don't plan on revealing parts of my body that would otherwise remain covered up, just because you don't trust me, you hentai," she snapped. InuYasha growled and pulled himself up off the ground.

"Don't flatter yourself! I've got no desire!" he yelled defensively. Miroku just shook his head. _"Fool,"_ he thought reproachfully. "I was just—you know what? Fine, we'll stay! I am so sick of dealing with you people!" InuYasha stalked off in the direction of the woods, mumbling incoherently as he went. Sango, Shippo, and Miroku exchanged mischievous smirks.

"Well done, Sango," Miroku complimented. "I say that bought us at least another few weeks."

"Thank you, Miroku," she responded coquettishly. "I try my best." Miroku raised an eyebrow at her and looked her over approvingly.

_"Very well done,"_ he thought.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

A week had passed by since Kagome had abandoned the Feudal Era, and she found she still could not get InuYasha out of her head. Focusing in school became increasingly difficult, as her mind was always drifting back to the jewel shards locked away in one of her top most desk drawer. Not to mention, her family was constantly asking her when she was heading back and this did nothing to help her separate herself from the life she had left behind. She couldn't bring herself to tell her family that her adventures were over. This would lead to hundreds of questions and the one she most dreaded… 'Why?'

_"Because InuYasha is a dumb jerk,"_ she thought angrily as she scribbled away at her math homework. After spending half an hour on the same problem Kagome decided to give up for the night. She was too tired to deal with homework, and so many thoughts were running through her head that math was the furthest thing from her mind. She collapsed onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling as she waited for sleep to overcome her.

Sometimes she hated moments like these, when she was left alone with her thoughts. She tried to distract herself with the idea of going to the movies that weekend with her friends, but it just didn't work. She couldn't get her mind off InuYasha. She hated the way they had left things.

_"We fought before I left, and then we couldn't even say a proper goodbye,"_ she thought miserably. _"Even if I am mad about what he did to me I never wanted things to end like that. Though really…did I expect it to go differently?"_ Truthfully, the answer was 'no'. She had planned on leaving in a hurt rage, and that was how she had. The only moment of tenderness between them since her being almost murdered had been when InuYasha hugged her before she left. Maybe she should have let him explain himself. What would the harm have been?

_"Get a hold of yourself, Kagome. Are you actually considering forgiving that jerk?"_ she reprimanded herself. _"Don't forget about what he did… about how you've always been second best. It's time you finally stuck up for yourself."_ She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long night.

Back on the other side of the well InuYasha was also having a particularly torturous inner struggle. There was nothing left to distract him from his problems, or the things that Sango had been so kind to reveal to him. Kikyo wanted him dead, he knew that already, yet he had vowed to protect her anyway. If he thought about it rationally, which wasn't something he did often, that did seem a bit insane. Who made professions of loyalty to people who were trying to kill them?

_"I'll tell you who, no one,"_ he thought irritably. Still, even though Kikyo hated him now, he still couldn't help but feel some obligation to her. She had given up her life to be with him. What more could a person ask for? Then again, Kagome had decided to stay with him even after he told her that he needed to remain with Kikyo. She just wanted him to be happy, and she wasn't trying to turn him into something he wasn't, or make him do something he'd regret. That was true dedication if he ever saw it.

What the hell was he going to do? He wanted Kagome back, but he couldn't give up on Kikyo either. There had to be a way he could fix both problems in one fell swoop. He just didn't know what it was yet. Until then, he was stuck at a standstill, staring down into the Bone Eater's well, wishing that he could buck up the courage to cross over and see Kagome again.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Are you sure this is going to work, Shippo?" Sango asked apprehensively as they looked down the well the following morning.

"Of course I'm sure," Shippo said confidently. "InuYasha won't go after Kagome, so I'm going to take matters into my own hands."

"But I thought only InuYasha could go through the well," Sango reminded him.

"I have a solution to that too," Shippo told her. He pulled an enchanted leaf out of his pocket and placed it on top of his head. There was a puff of smoke and then instead of Shippo standing there it was InuYasha. Sango's eyes widened in astonishment. "What'd you think?" he asked, his voice was high pitched and squeaky just like Shippo's. Sango giggled, it was an entertaining sight.

"I'm impressed Shippo," she told him, "but don't you think Kagome will realize it's not InuYasha."

"Nah…why would she?" Shippo waved her off.

"I don't know, but I think your tail might tip her off," Sango told him with a chuckle. Shippo turned his head and looked down at the brown puff ball sticking out of the back of his pants.

"I can fix that," he assured her. Sango nodded. "Don't sweat it Sango, I can do an excellent InuYasha impression, I've been practicing."  
"Well as long as you're sure," Sango said. "Though I do worry something might go wrong once Kagome comes back and finds out you tricked her."

"I figure once we get her back here we can just lock her and InuYasha in a room somewhere and force them to apologize," Shippo said with a shrug. "It's better than any plan they've come up with on their own so far."

"You do have a point," Sango agreed. Just as Shippo was preparing to jump down the well he felt a hand tighten around the back of his haori. He glanced up and saw Sango's eyes widen nervously. He gulped and slowly turned his head to get a glimpse of the person who was holding him hostage. He really hoped it wasn't who he thought it was.

"Going somewhere Shippo?" InuYasha growled.

"Uh…" the kitsune stammered, and he popped back into his original form.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" InuYasha shouted in outrage.

"I was _going_ to fix things with Kagome, since you seem completely incapable of handling the problem yourself," Shippo snapped. This proved to be the wrong thing to say.

"You're dead you meddling little runt!" InuYasha threatened, raising his fist high in the air. Shippo managed to escape InuYasha grasp just before his fist came down, and he went running across the fields.

"Come back here Shippo!" InuYasha shouted as he chased after the kitsune. Sango sighed and watched the hanyou run after Shippo. It had been a good plan in theory, but it probably wouldn't have worked anyway. Kagome would have been able to tell it wasn't InuYasha. Besides, when had the hanyou ever apologized first for anything?

"I see InuYasha found out about Shippo's little plan," Miroku observed as he walked up beside her.

"Yep," Sango said simply as they watched InuYasha pounce onto the kitsune and then proceed to beat the crap out of him.

"I commend Shippo for his boldness, but in hindsight I don't think the little practical joke was worth it," Miroku commented, wincing as he watched InuYasha smash Shippo's face into the ground.

"I guess we're going to have to wait for InuYasha to go through the well on his own," Sango sighed wearily. Miroku nodded.

"Once again we must invoke the use of the avoidance tactic," he told her.

"Back to hiding in the bushes it is," Sango said with an affirmative nod. They watched as Shippo came limping back toward them, sporting a black eye, and looking thoroughly miserable.

"Don't impersonate InuYasha…bad idea…" he moaned before passing out at Miroku's feet.

"I'll take him to Kaede's," Sango announced, scooping the young fox-demon up in her arms and heading back toward the village. "You try and calm InuYasha down, okay?" Miroku nodded and headed over to the hanyou. He was standing with his back to everyone, glaring angrily into the distance.

"Was that really necessary, InuYasha?" Miroku asked reasonably. The half-demon folded his arms and said nothing.

"Yes," he grumbled after a few seconds of silence. Miroku sighed. It was like dealing with a child. The monk decided that perhaps it was time to try a new method of dealing with the hanyou, speaking to him directly. Obviously he didn't take well to the 'gentle nudge in the right direction' method.

"InuYasha, I know you miss Kagome," Miroku said impatiently. "Why don't you just travel through the well and tell her that you're sorry?" InuYasha opened his mouth to protest but Miroku pressed on as if he did not notice. "It doesn't matter whether or not you think you did something. Just get her back, everyone is miserable without her, and you're the only one able to go through the well."

"But I—" InuYasha started, but Miroku cut across him yet again.

"Just do it," he said firmly through clenched teeth.

"All right, geez Miroku, I'll go talk to her," InuYasha said, pushing his way past the monk. Miroku blinked rapidly and looked after InuYasha in shock.

"You will?" he said in astonishment. "Just like that?"

"Yeah, okay, don't make a big deal out of it," InuYasha snapped.

"I'm sorry, InuYasha, I'm just a little surprised. I mean, you rarely go through the well in plain sight of another person," Miroku reminded him.

"I'm not going now," InuYasha said in annoyance, as if Miroku was the densest human being on the planet.

"When are you going then?" Miroku asked incredulously. InuYasha shrugged.

"Whenever I feel like," he responded indignantly. He started the walk back to the village, leaving Miroku standing there with his mouth hanging open.

_"Just when I think he's starting to mature…"_ he thought wearily as he followed the hanyou back to the hut.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: Okay, this is only a one chapter update, but I have swim pratice in the middle of the afternoon today so I don't know if I'll be able to get a full four chapters out, and Iwanted to do one more post before I went back to school, because I have no idea when I'll be able to update again. Hopefully I'll be able to get a few more chapters out when I get home. (I'm praying for it!) Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys are what's motivating me! Hope you enjoy this next chapter. Happy Reading! -- Lothlome**

Chapter 29

"I'm home!" Kagome called as she entered the kitchen and took off her shoes. It had been a long day at school. She had a science exam coming up, and she was loaded down with homework. Her academic problems were not helped by the fact that Hojo had asked her to go to another movie on Saturday. She had agreed to it without hesitation, causing a mass panic among her friends, and an uncomfortable conversation about InuYasha.

"Wow Kagome…" Yuki said after Hojo headed down the hallway looking extremely happy about receiving a 'yes' from Kagome. "Does this mean it's over with that other guy you've been seeing?"

"Of course that's what it means," Kagome said, a little more harshly than she meant to. "I wouldn't cheat on him." She started walking to the front of the school and her friends hurried after her.

"What happened?" Ayumi asked curiously. Kagome stopped in her tracks and swallowed down a fresh wave of tears. She was sick of crying over InuYasha. She wanted to live her life like a normal teenager again, and she wasn't about to let the hanyou's memory get in the way.

"He still had feelings for his old girlfriend so I dumped him," Kagome told them, her hands curling into fists reflexively.

"Well I'm sorry things didn't work out, Kagome," Ayumi said comfortingly.

"You're better off without him anyway," Eri assured her. "If you ask me he always sounded a little psycho."

"Hojo's a nice guy, he'll be better for you," Yuki added. Kagome nodded along with all their statements, but she couldn't help thinking that the only reason she'd said 'yes' to Hojo was to get a little revenge on InuYasha. Though if she wanted some real revenge she could go back to the Feudal Era and tell InuYasha she was in love with Koga.

_"That would show him,"_ she thought with a satisfied grin as she headed upstairs to her room. She could just imagine the look on InuYasha's face, but almost immediately she felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. _"No, that isn't me. I'd never play with someone's emotions like that, and especially not InuYasha's, he's so sensitive."_

She sighed heavily as she entered her room. She was not looking forward to the night full of studying that lay ahead. For once she actually missed her grandpa's lame excuses; at least they got her out of school. Just as she sat down at her desk she heard her grandfather yelling from downstairs.

"Kagome, I need you to sweep out the well-house!" he called up the stairs. She sighed and stood up. _Sweep out the well-house?_ Was her family ever going to let her forget about the Feudal Era? It was like they wanted her to go.

She walked across the shrine and grabbed a broom out of the shed as she went. As she swept the dirty floor Kagome found herself casting furtive glances over at the well.

_"Come on Kagome! Get a grip!"_ she thought irritably, turning her back on the well altogether. _"You're never going back to the Feudal Era, so just forget about it." _She began sweeping even more forcefully, in an effort to force all the torturous thoughts of her past adventures from her mind.

Twenty minutes passed and Kagome had almost finished the entire floor when suddenly she heard the sound of the rope ladder scraping against the side of the well.

_"That's strange,"_ she thought as she tip-toed over to the side of the well. Just as she was slowly starting to lean over the edge she was met with the sight of a mass of red and silver, and she jumped back with a scream.

She heard a familiar yelp and then a scraping sound as the ladder was put under stress again.

"Geez Kagome," InuYasha said in annoyance as he rose up out of the well. "I know we haven't seen each other in awhile, but I didn't expect you to forget what I look like already." For an instant Kagome felt a rising feeling of euphoria in her chest, but it was soon replaced with anger as she remembered all the things that had passed between them, and the reason why she had returned home.

"I'm surprised you have the courage to show your face around here," she snapped, turning her back on him.

"So she's still mad," InuYasha thought as he physically drooped. "I guess it would have been stupid to expect anything different." He wiped some dust off of his haori and straightened up to his full height. He had come here for a reason, and as long as he kept his temper in check he was sure he could accomplish his mission.

"What do you want, InuYasha?" Kagome asked crossly, turning her head slightly so she could see him. She was putting up a front of anger, but InuYasha could detect a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"I came to—" he started to say, but that sentence was soon cut off with another.

"—Why did you abandon us?" InuYasha immediately cursed himself for saying this. It was like his mouth and mind weren't in sync with each other. He hadn't come here to start a fight, but from the look on Kagome's face he could tell that he already had.

"Abandon you?" she sputtered in indignation. "Is that why you came? To yell at me for leaving you to find the jewel shards by yourself!"

"Well you are shirking your responsibilities," InuYasha told her, folding his hands in his haori and turning away from her. "You are the one who shattered the jewel after all." Kagome felt her entire body shaking with rage. She didn't even know how to respond to a comment like that.

"So what if I shattered the jewel? It's not like you _need_ me to help you find them, you've made it more than clear that you can handle that job on your own," Kagome said pointedly.

"Look, I'm not just here about the jewel shards," InuYasha said in a low growl. Kagome blinked and looked at him in confusion.

"Oh…really?" she asked, wondering what he was going to say next.

"Yeah, Miroku and the others are all getting on my case, blaming me for your leaving and stuff, so I came here to try and get you to come back and visit them or something. They miss you, you know? Plus, I'd do anything to get them off my back at this point…." Kagome just stood there staring at him for a few seconds before finally letting out the loudest scream the hanyou had ever heard. He stumbled backwards a few paces and felt his legs hit the lip of the well. He wasn't sure who was scarier when they were angry, Kagome or Sango.

"You! You insufferable…selfish…stupid…jerk!" Kagome ranted at him. "How dare you come here and talk to me like that? I don't care what your problem is; you're not going to get me to come running back to the Feudal Era whenever you want! If you don't like that…well that's just too bad. You should have thought about that before you went running after Kikyo like a little lovesick puppy! Ugh! I am so tired of dealing with your attitude…and excuse me for doing something for myself for once instead of putting you ahead of my own feelings. How could I have been so selfish?" she spat, with an overdramatic eye roll. InuYasha just stood there speechless. He couldn't think of anything to say, sarcastic or comforting. Once again things weren't going the way he had envisioned them in his head.

"I—" he began, but he had no idea where that statement was going, so he supposed it was a good thing that Kagome interrupted him.

"So as you once said to me, InuYasha," Kagome said, her voice was now deathly quiet though it still held all of its former malice, and InuYasha wasn't sure, but he could swear he saw a few tears in the bottom of her eyes. He watched as she took a deep breath and brought herself up to her full height, and she was standing so close to him that they were almost touching. "GO BACK TO YOUR OWN ERA!" she shouted, she gave him a firm push, and he was sent toppling over the lip of the well.

"Kagome!" he shouted as he fell down deeper and deeper into the darkness. This _definitely_ was not how this was supposed to go.

Kagome turned her back on the well and started to head for the door. Finally, that was the last she was ever going to see of InuYasha. She had made herself very clear, and she was sure not even he would be stupid enough to make another journey through the well. Yet just as she was making her way up the steps that led out of the well-house she heard his voice drift up the well shaft one last time.

"Kagome I'm—" Her eyes widened and she raced back over to the well, but when she looked down into it she only saw emptiness. He had already gone back to the other side.

"—sorry," InuYasha groaned as he hit the bottom of the well back in the Feudal Era. He didn't try to move, or callfor someone to help him out; he just lay there in misery. He had tried to apologize, but it was too late. _"An apology's just not good enough anymore."_


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: Okay, I managed to get out two more chapters before school starts. My last summer post (cries)! It's a little short, but it's the best I can do.Hopefully I'll have a nice big update come Saturday. Wish me luck on my first days of school, I hope I survive. Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed. I appreciate it, you guys rock! Happy Reading!--Lothlome**

Chapter 30

InuYasha woke up the next morning and found that he was still lying at the bottom of the well. He knew he should probably get up, find the others, and see what he could do to get them to go searching for the Shikon jewel shards again, but he didn't want to. He just wanted to lie there for the rest of his life. The fact that he was never going to see Kagome again was starting to sink in.

When she had left, InuYasha hadn't fully grasped the magnitude of the situation. She said she was leaving for good, all right; he would still be able to go after her and bring her back once she had come to her senses and he had come to his. But this time was different, this time Kagome had actually pushed him out of her world…quite literally. She was beyond angry…she was in the realm of pure hatred now.

"_Kagome actually _hates_ me,"_ he mused, it was just too much to bear. The one person in the world that made him feel like he was more than he could have ever imagined truly loathed him. And that was when something finally clicked with InuYasha.

When he had first learned of Kikyo's hatred he had started to fill with a growing resentment towards her. It was unfair! He hadn't done anything and Kikyo was out to take his life, she had tried to kill him fifty years ago without letting him explain himself. She had just turned on him without a second thought. There was no second chance, no forgive and forget, there was just loathing.

With Kagome it was different. He couldn't resent her for hating him, in fact, he supposed he deserved it. She had given him plenty of second chances, and he had screwed them all up. Truthfully, he was surprised her patience had lasted so long.

Another realization came to him as he lay there in the well, staring morosely up at the small patch of sky above him. He couldn't live if Kagome hated him. He couldn't live without ever seeing her again. Kikyo might have given her life to be with him, but Kagome's affection was worth more than that to him. He might be obligated to Kikyo, but that didn't mean he had to give her his life. He had finally made his decision.

"_I'm going to get Kagome back,"_ he thought as he climbed out of the well, a new sense of determination rushing through his veins. _"I don't care how long it takes, or what I have to do. I'm going to make sure she forgives me again. I won't rest until I've made this up to her." _

InuYasha approached the village, and found Miroku, Sango, and Shippo sitting outside eating a late breakfast. As they heard him approach they all glanced up, and their eyes widened in surprise when they recognized him.

"InuYasha, where have you been?" Shippo asked in concern. "You've been gone since yesterday."

"Yes, and what happened to you?" Sango added as she looked over his haori. The backside was completely covered in dirt.

"I've been thinking," he told them simply. The others exchanged wary looks, InuYasha thinking usually didn't lead to good things. "Geez, don't act so surprised!" he said in annoyance. He hated the way they looked at each other after he said he'd been reasoning something out. It was like they didn't think he was capable of higher level brain functions.

"InuYasha, may I talk to you for a second?" Miroku inquired, grabbing the hanyou around the shoulders and steering him toward an open field.

"It looks like I don't have much of a choice," InuYasha observed with a scoff. Miroku said nothing, and InuYasha gave him a critical look. Something was going on.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

After her encounter with InuYasha, Kagome found herself even more miserable than she had been previously. Why had she pushed him down the well? Now he was never going to come back for her.

"_Why would he?"_ she thought as she made the slow journey toward school. _"He probably thinks I hate him now."_ She sighed heavily and continued to stare down at her feet moving rhythmically along the sidewalk. At the time pushing him down the well had seemed like the right thing to do, but now she was regretting that action more and more with each step. The scene kept on playing over and over in her mind. The look on InuYasha's face as she pushed him over the edge of the well was haunting her. He looked so confused, so hurt, and like he had just been robbed of his dignity. She shook her head to try and make the image go away, but it didn't work. It was like InuYasha's face had been painted beneath her eyelids.

Another thing that had been tearing at her mind was the fact that she had pushed InuYasha down the well just as he was trying to tell her something. It could have been something important. Frequently she found her mind trailing back to the sacred jewel shards locked safely in her desk. Should she use them? The minute she did InuYasha would realize what was going on, and the lesson she was trying to teach him would be completely over. Did she dare risk it?

There it was again, that twinge in her stomach she felt anytime she thought about InuYasha. What was wrong with her? She didn't feel guilty…did she?

"_That's completely ridiculous, I don't have anything to feel guilty for,"_ Kagome thought firmly. _"InuYasha betrayed me. I was just tired of being second best; there was nothing wrong with what I did."_ She stopped in her tracks and stared up at the school looming before her. She was too distracted to deal with school, her friends, and Hojo today. She just wanted to go home and crawl into the warm softness of her bed. She began to climb up the steps leading into the main hallway and resigned herself to the same unsettling thoughts of InuYasha.

"_But I do have something to feel bad about,"_ she realized. _"I completely ignored InuYasha's attempts to try and talk to me about what happened. I was too angry to listen to him. It wasn't fair of me. I should go back…if only to hear what he has to say."_ Kagome suddenly felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her chest as she made this promise to herself. She was going to see InuYasha again and finally clear the air. Even if they couldn't come to an understanding, and she did end up coming home again, at least they would be able to settle things once and for all.


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: First off, I just want to say I am SO sorry for not posting last Saturday like I said I was going to. Unfortunately for me, my first two days of school were hell on earth. I won't bore you with the details, but just to give you an idea, I came home after the first day and had a nervous breakdown...seriously, I'm not even exaggerating, my parents almost gave me a valium. Anyway, I spent the weekend doing homework and shopping for my sister's birthday. I couldn't have written even I wanted to. Luckily, my 2nd week of school went much better and I actually had time to write this weekend. YES! Apparently there is a life that doesn't have anything to with fanfiction...strange as that may be (shrugs). All right, so this is a three chapter post, and hopefully I'll be able to put out a couple more before the night is through. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys fuel my muse, and keep me from going completely insane! You rock! Happy Reading!--Lothlome**

Chapter 32

"What the hell is going on Miroku?" InuYasha demanded once they were far enough away from the others. Miroku sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts. A situation like this had to be handled in just the right way or the results could be disastrous, especially with InuYasha being involved. The hanyou noticed the monk's hesitation and narrowed his eyes warily. He didn't like the way Miroku was acting, and he could sense that bad news was one the way. He didn't know what could be worse than Kagome hating him, but he assumed this one would probably be a close second. "Miroku…" he said in a low growl, as he clenched his fists and towered over the monk menacingly.

"I don't want to alarm you, InuYasha, but last night while you were away Lady Kaede and I spotted what appeared to be disconnected souls heading toward a village north of here," Miroku explained calmly, though he felt his stomach twisting around inside him uncomfortably. He feared that the appearance of Kikyo would dash any hopes he and the others had of Kagome and InuYasha reconciling.

"Disconnected souls?" InuYasha repeated with wide eyes. He couldn't believe it; this really was the second worst thing next to having Kagome hate him. Why did Kikyo have to turn up now of all times? It was like she was testing him or something. "So that means…"

"Kikyo is nearby," Miroku finished stoically, but his eyes flashed angrily as he mentioned the miko's name. InuYasha said nothing, but Miroku watched him physically droop and stare down at the ground in defeat. He could feel his anger rising. _"If he even _considers_ going back to Kikyo after what she did to Kagome…"_ The two stood in silence for awhile, InuYasha carefully avoiding Miroku's gaze, though he did cast a glance northward once or twice. "What are you going to do, InuYasha?" Miroku finally asked after a few minutes of silence. He fixed the hanyou with a hard stare, but he reminded himself to keep his temper in check. He wanted to alert InuYasha to the urgency of the situation, not get involved in a fight.

"I…I don't know…" InuYasha said heavily, still not meeting Miroku's gaze.

"You can't be considering going back to Kikyo!" Miroku shouted before he could stop himself. At this comment InuYasha's head shot up angrily.

"No way!" he shot back defiantly. "I would never…not after what she did! What kind of guy do you think I am, Miroku?"

"Then how are you planning to handle this situation?" Miroku challenged. InuYasha scowled at him. What exactly did the monk expect him to do? He wasn't about to take Kikyo back, if that's what Miroku was thinking, but he wasn't about to go hunt her down either. He wondered what role Kikyo would have in his life now that he had chosen Kagome. He supposed they would run into each other eventually. Should he get the worst over now, or just wait until they were thrown together in battle again?

"I don't see why I should do anything," InuYasha grumbled, folding his hands in the sleeves of his haori. Miroku sighed in agitation.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you the one who promised to protect her from Naraku?" he reminded the half-demon. InuYasha scoffed.

"She seems to be managing all right on her own so far, it's not like she needs me or anything," InuYasha countered. Miroku looked at him in confusion. Why was he acting so indifferent towards Kikyo's situation? He usually jumped at the chance to go on a hunt for her, yet now he was making every excuse he could so he wouldn't have to see her. _"I wonder what's caused his sudden change of heart…unless…Kagome… but no, I shouldn't get my hopes up. This is InuYasha after all,"_ Miroku mused.

"Didn't you also promise to jump into hell with her?" Miroku pressed. InuYasha colored a light shade of pink, but he managed to shoot a haughty response at the monk nonetheless.

"I didn't make any promises," InuYasha said defensively.

"Really?" Miroku said suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. "Because I recall a certain incident—"

"Look Miroku, I don't have to stand here and explain myself to you," InuYasha interrupted in annoyance. "Either help me figure this out, or shut up."

"My apologies InuYasha," Miroku said serenely. InuYasha just rolled his eyes and scowled. He didn't appreciate the fact that Miroku was making light of his predicament. The monk had no idea what it was like to be in a situation like this. On the one hand he wanted to be with Kagome, but no matter how hard he tried to escape, he was still bound to Kikyo. He had to find a way to sever his ties to the priestess, it was the only way he would be able to live his life again.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

After finishing what was in InuYasha's eyes, a pointless conversation with Miroku, the hanyou headed into the village to find Kaede. He figured that if anyone would know what to do about Kikyo, it would be the old priestess, they were sisters after all. He just hoped his conversation with Kaede would be less irritating than the last hour he had spent listening to Miroku.

He found Kaede sitting in her hut in front of the fire, mixing an herbal remedy in a large black pot.

"InuYasha…I see ye have returned," Kaede observed as she continued to stir her concoction. InuYasha nodded and sat crossed legged in front of the priestess.

"I need to talk to you," he said solemnly. Kaede said nothing for a few minutes and continued to stare down into her swirling potion, watching the ripples her spoon made as it swam around in the liquid.

"I assume you know that my sister, Kikyo, is nearby," she said finally.

"Yes," InuYasha said, inclining his head.

"What will ye do InuYasha?" she asked him, looking up from her remedy for the first time, and staring intently into the half-demon's eyes. He sighed and let his eyes fall to the floor. Everyone was asking him what he was going to do, but he had no better idea than any of them. He really didn't have anything left to say to Kikyo, and it seemed pretty stupid to him to travel all the way to another village just to tell her that he had given up on protecting her. He doubted she would care very much; she hadn't really wanted his help in the first place.

"What would you suggest?" he asked her gravely.

"It depends, what are ye planning to accomplish?" she returned.

"I want to be free of Kikyo…forever," he told her heavily. He chanced a look up at her, wondering how she would react to his statement. To his surprise she merely nodded at his comment and began stirring her potion once again. It was as if she had known what he was going to say.

"I thought as much," she said simply.

"I know that I'm bound to Kikyo, she gave her life to be with me, but that is an action I can't return," he continued. He didn't know why he was telling her this, he usually never spoke of feelings like this to anyone, yet for some reason he felt like it needed to be explained. "I know I'm obligated to help her, but I need to find a way to do that without giving up my own life." Kaede said nothing and continued to stir her remedy with a pensive expression on her face. InuYasha felt like all the air was being sucked out of the room as he waited for the old priestess to respond. A horrible sense of foreboding hung in the air all around them.

"There is only one way to save Kikyo's soul, InuYasha," she said finally, in a low voice. "Ye know it already…ye have known it since Kikyo was first brought back from death…yet before ye never had the strength to do what was necessary." InuYasha felt as if the bottom of his stomach had dropped out, and his mouth went dry. He knew what Kaede was suggesting, and the idea of it made him sick.

"You mean…" he began, but he found his voice had abandoned him. Kaede nodded slowly.

"Kikyo is not of this world, InuYasha, she is a roaming spirit, bound here only by her hatred of you, and she is sustained only by the souls of others. She does not belong here…ye know it, I know it…and deep down she knows it as well," Kaede said solemnly.

"But do you realize what you're suggesting?" InuYasha demanded of her. "What I'm going to have to do? How am I supposed to live with myself?"

"This is your only choice, InuYasha. Only by doing this can you both save Kikyo, and be free of her," Kaede told him. InuYasha stared down at the floor, his stomach writhing like a snake. She was right, he had known what he was going to have to do all along, but his old love for Kikyo had kept him from going through with it. He just wished there was another way. "What will ye do, InuYasha?"

"I will go to Kikyo," he said firmly, his voice laced both with anger and determination. He clenched his fists tightly, and he felt his claws press into the palms of his hands. He stood up from his spot in front of the fire, and walked out of the hut, leaving Kaede alone in the growing darkness.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

InuYasha didn't leave to go after Kikyo right away, he decided to spend a night in the forest before heading off toward the village the following day. He could smell a mixture of clay and gravesite dirt only a few miles off, it wouldn't take him more than a day to get to the next village. He propped himself up on one of the branches of his favorite tree on the edge of the forest. He hadn't returned to see the others after he had left Kaede's. It would only lead to a lot of questioning, and probably a beating from Sango if they found out where he was going. This was just something he needed to handle on his own.

The thought of what he was going to do was making his stomach churn uneasily. _"It's the only way,"_ he told himself firmly. _"Kaede told me this was my only choice, what else can I do? I've tried…but I can't live my life with Kikyo haunting me. We both need to be able to move on."_ No matter how much he tried to convince himself, InuYasha still could feel a horrible guilt spreading through his limbs. Tomorrow was going to be the biggest test of his will that he had ever experienced. Many times that night he thought about turning his back on his resolution, it was too difficult. He couldn't do this, it was too much to ask of him. He had always prided himself on his strength, but he didn't think he had strength enough for something like this.

"_No, I can't back down now,"_ he thought firmly, his hand tightening around the hilt of Tetsusaiga. _"I need to do this. I'm not the only one who's fate is dependent on this. I have to end this…once and for all." _

With these conflicting thoughts InuYasha closed his eyes, despite the fact that his mind was still screaming for an answer to his doubts. He didn't care what the consequences were, he was going to do this. He wanted to be free, and he wanted to be able to live his life without that regret and sadness hanging over him constantly. He had had enough pain in his life already.

The next morning InuYasha woke late, he assumed it was because he was trying to postpone seeing Kikyo for as long as he could. After washing his hands and face in the river he headed toward the north, following the scent of clay and gravesite dirt. The village was very close, and more and more he began to think that Kikyo's being there was much more than coincidence.

After a few hours of walking, InuYasha came upon the front gates of the village. He hid in some nearby brush and surveyed this new town. Not many people were out doing errands, and from what he could tell, it looked like some sort of epidemic had fallen upon the village, he assumed that was the reason Kikyo had come in the first place. He scanned the buildings, and saw the temple in the very center of the town on a small hill. He had a feeling that he would find Kikyo there.

Once the coast was clear InuYasha stole his way through the village. It wasn't exactly that he needed to stay out of sight, but he thought the less attention he attracted to himself the better. He darted between houses and shops, and soon he was at the doorway leading into the temple. He took a deep breath to steady his shaking limbs. This was it.

He pushed the bamboo doormat out of his way and stepped over the temple's threshold. He wasn't surprised to find himself face to face with Kikyo. She wasn't armed, and her hair was hanging down all about her. Her soul collectors were nowhere to be found.

"Ah…InuYasha, I knew it was only a matter of time before you found me here," she said in her low voice. A smirk was playing on her lips, and InuYasha had a feeling she wasn't going to make his job easy for him. "Tell me, how is your friend? Did she survive her encounter with me?" At the mention of Kagome, InuYasha felt a protective anger welling up in his chest. How dare Kikyo make light of what had happened that day? She was not the kindhearted person he had once known.

"She's fine, Kikyo, you didn't manage to kill her, perhaps you're a little weaker than you thought," he spat, his anger giving him strength to treat her as he would any other adversary. Kikyo narrowed her eyes at him, obviously his comment had tested the last of her patience.

"What are you doing here, InuYasha?" she demanded of him. "It certainly can't be to avenge the pathetic girl you're traveling with." InuYasha growled and took a step toward her with clenched fists.

"I'm here for you, Kikyo," he said in a low, menacing snarl.

"So it is vengeance you want," Kikyo observed with a small laugh. She grabbed her bow and a quiver full of arrows off of a table nearby.

"I'm not here for vengeance," he told her. "I'm here for my freedom."

"You forget, InuYasha," she said as she raised her drawn bow, her cold eyes staring directly at her target as if she was trying to burn holes through him, "your life belongs to me." She let an arrow fly, and InuYasha jumped out of its way and landed on Kikyo's other side. He knew his Tetsusaiga was useless against her, she could just cancel its transformation with one of her arrows; he was going to have to use his bare hands on this one.

He rushed at her, his claws held high over his head. She let another arrow fly, and this one grazed his wrist as he sprung out of the way. He skidded to a halt on the other side of the room and turned around to face Kikyo once again. He ignored the pain, and the blood rolling down his arm, and focused all his energy on the woman in front of him. He tried to pull up every last ounce of hatred for her he had, but it did nothing to dull the aching in his chest. No matter how hard he tried he could not quell the guilt he felt at fighting his first love.

"You shouldn't have come InuYasha," she said as she let another arrow loose from her bow. He dodged it yet again, and felt the arrow head tear the leg of his pants and bite into his skin as he jumped to the side. He landed on his feet, his right knee shaking violently as he tried to keep his injured leg steady. "Come now, aren't you going to at least try to hit me? Or has the brave InuYasha turned into a coward?" she mocked as she fitted another arrow onto her bow. InuYasha growled and rushed toward her, before Kikyo could react he wrapped his hands around her bow, and the two struggled to free it from each other's grip.

"You can't win this battle, Kikyo, just give in," InuYasha warned. Kikyo's eyes narrowed, and her face contorted into an expression of utter loathing.

"I would never let my most bitter enemy get the better of me," she spat. Kikyo grabbed an arrow out of the quiver on her back, and shoved it into the top of InuYasha's shoulder. He cried out in pain, and drew back from her, but he would not take his hands off the bow. He twisted Kikyo's arms around as he struggled to free her weapon from her, she was given the choice between broken arms and losing her bow, and she let her fingers slide away from the wooden grip as she cried in pain. InuYasha snapped the bow in half and tossed it to the other side of the room.

"Let's see you fight without your bow," he said with a smirk. He raced toward her, intending to finish the battle once and for all, but just as he was about to come down on her he felt something enter his gut, and he looked down in shock to see that Kikyo had stuck a short knife through him.

"You shouldn't have come," she repeated as she pulled the knife out of him with the most wicked of smiles InuYasha had ever seen appear on her face. He staggered back, the knife had gone deep, but he had suffered worse. He pressed his hand over the wound and felt warm blood well up over his fingers and spill down onto the floor. Kikyo merely chuckled low in her throat as she looked over him. She thought she had won, that she had finally killed him, InuYasha tried his best to hide a smile. He was not that easy to get rid of.

He felt his knees buckling underneath him, but he forced himself to trudge forward toward the miko. Each step sent a pain running through his body like a thousand white hot knives being shoved into every inch of his skin, but he refused to stop. He had to finish what he had started, even if it meant dying in the process.

"I'm sorry Kikyo," he managed to say as he came upon her, he knocked the knife from her hand and sent it spinning against the opposite wall. Her eyes widened as she realized that she was defenseless and she took a step back. InuYasha grabbed her by the wrist to keep her from going any further.

"Is this what you wish for? To kill me?" she demanded, her voice now taking on a desperate quality.

"No… I want to save you," he replied and there was a sadness in his eyes. He sent his claws through her chest, making a large hole which the souls Kikyo had stolen to sustain herself came spilling through. InuYasha was knocked backward as hundreds of souls came spilling out of Kikyo's body and rushing out in all directions.

After spending what felt like hours watching those bright orbs of light flying overhead, InuYasha managed to drag himself up off the ground. His entire body ached with the battle, and he felt as if someone had ripped his heart from his chest. He slowly made his way over to where the motionless Kikyo lay on the temple floor. He kneeled down beside her, and hung his head in despair. He wished there had been another way, but Kaede was right, in the end, this was the only way to free them both from an eternity of torment. He forced himself to look upon Kikyo's pale face, her eyes were staring unblinkingly into the distance, and her face had relaxed from its former expression of hatred.

Kikyo was dead.


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: I'm so happy, I actually managed to write two more chapters! YAY! So that's five chapters total for tonight, I hope it makes up for my complete lack of update for the past week. Hopefully I'll have enough free time to update at least once every weekend now. I would write after school, but homework and swim practice keep me busy basically until I have to go to sleep. Hope you enjoy the next to chapters. I'll try to update soon! Thanks for all the reviews, once again, I can never say thanks enough. Happy Reading!--Lothlome**

Chapter 35

Kagome clutched the small pouch of Shikon jewel shards and stared down into the darkness of the well. She had waited until the end of the school week to head over to the Feudal era, and she was sure she was up earlier than any other teenager on the planet that Saturday. Her body shook with nervousness and excitement as she thought about returning to the world beyond the well. She had missed her friends, and she couldn't wait to see them all again. She had even missed InuYasha, no matter how badly he screwed up, it seemed she could never tear herself away from him completely. She just hoped they could find a way to sort out this whole mess. Her time away from the Feudal era had proved to her that she didn't want to end her adventures.

"_Well, this is it. I'm going back,"_ she thought as she took a deep breath. She hopped over the edge of the well, and felt herself slowly glide through the starry expanse that led to the other side. Her feet gently landed on the dirt floor, and she looked up at the opening above her head. It was a clear, sunny day in the Feudal era. She sighed in contentment and began the slow climb up the vines that spread out over the walls. Things were finally starting to feel the way they were supposed to.

She threw her backpack over the side of the well, and a few seconds later she came up after it. She took in her surroundings and smiled. She had missed the forests and the quaint little huts dotting the horizon. She headed over to the hut she and the others used during their stays in the village, her feet hurrying along the grassy fields.

No one was outside when she arrived, and for a minute she felt her spirits sink. They had probably gone on to search for the Shikon jewels without her. Why should they bother to stay if they thought she wasn't coming back? But suddenly she heard Shippo's voice from inside the hut, and she raised her head with a smile.

"I wouldn't go looking for him, Miroku," Shippo warned. "You'll probably get punched, that's what he'd do to me."

"Nonsense, Shippo, besides InuYasha has been missing for some time now," Miroku countered, and Kagome felt her heartbeat quicken at the monk's statement. InuYasha was missing? Why? "I'm going to go look for him. I should be back in time for lunch."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Shippo said sagely. Kagome's eyes widened as she watched the bamboo mat hanging over the door move aside, and Miroku appeared in the doorway.

"K-Kagome?" he said in astonishment, blinking his eyes rapidly as if he didn't believe she was real. She smiled weakly, and she felt her knees starting to tremble.

"KAGOME!" Shippo shouted, jumping onto Miroku's shoulder, and upon seeing Kagome in front of him, the young kitsune jumped into her arms.

"Shippo!" Kagome laughed, and she felt tears of happiness fill her eyes.

"I thought I was never going to see you again," Shippo cried into her chest. Sango stood in the doorway beside Miroku, and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"Kagome…how did you…" she began, but the demon slayer found that it didn't really matter, and before she knew it Kagome had buried her in a hug.

"Oh Sango…I thought I was never going to see any of you ever again…" she sobbed into her friend's kimono. "I couldn't stand to be apart from you any longer…I'm so glad I'm back." Sango smiled down at her friend's head kindly, and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"Now, now Kagome," Miroku said, rubbing the shivering girl on the back, "no need to get hysterical. It's all right…you're back where you belong now."

"And you'd better keep that hand where _it_ belongs, houshi," Sango warned as she noticed the monk's hand slowly slipping down Kagome's back to her rear end. Miroku colored slightly and straightened up.

"Of course," he said quickly. After Kagome's crying had stopped Shippo and Kirara went to go collect some firewood, and Miroku and Sango sat with Kagome outside the hut exchanging news.

"Where's InuYasha?" Kagome asked finally after they had all caught up with one another. Miroku and Sango exchanged worried looks.

"We're not sure," Sango told her cautiously. "He disappeared yesterday afternoon. The last time we saw him he was heading for Kaede's."

"Do you think he's all right?" Kagome asked anxiously, and she felt her stomach clench painfully. She couldn't bear the thought of something happening to him before they got a chance to make up.

"He should be fine," Miroku said with a comforting smile, but Kagome sensed that he was worried for the hanyou as well. "InuYasha is made of a stronger stuff, he'll be able to stand up against anything that gets in his way. Besides, I'm sure he hasn't gotten too far. He's probably just moping around in the forest somewhere." Kagome nodded, and tried to take heart in Miroku's words.

The group passed the rest of the day rather comfortably, just taking pleasure in one another's company, and though Kagome was happy to be with her friends again, her thoughts frequently strayed back to InuYasha. She wondered what had caused him to stray away from the village and when he was coming back. She hated to think that he had wandered off because he was upset about what she had done to him. She knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself until they apologized properly.

"_InuYasha please come home soon,"_ she thought desperately as she watched the sun slowly sinking below the horizon.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

With his remaining strength InuYasha had managed to clear away all traces of the battle between himself and Kikyo in the temple, and he wrapped Kikyo's limp body in a run of white cloth. He couldn't stand the thought of carrying her all the way back to his village with her vacant eyes staring up at him. He made sure the cloth was wrapped securely around her, and took a scan of the village. The sun was just starting to set, and most people were heading inside for the evening. He decided that now was his chance to escape the village. If he wanted to avoid unwanted eyes before, he certainly wanted to now. He had a feeling it would look suspicious if a bleeding half-demon came strutting through the village carrying a dead body.

He stealthily made his way through the huts and made his quick exit through the western gates. He had managed to avoid all detection, and now all he had to do was make it back to his village without getting into anymore trouble.

InuYasha's arms ached under the weight of Kikyo's limp body. Usually her added mass would have meant nothing to him, but he had been significantly weakened by the battle, and it was all he could do to make his slow way back to the village. The wound in his gut was still bleeding rather freely, and he was concerned that it wasn't starting to clot. Either Kikyo had poisoned her blade, or the wound had gone deep, and he had a sinking feeling that it was the latter.

As he walked along InuYasha cast frequent glances down at the body in his arms. He couldn't believe what he had done. Sometimes it all seemed like a dream too horrific to be real. Kikyo was finally out of his life forever, and she could rest among the dead as she was intended to. Her salvation had cost him a terrible price, and he felt that his debt to her had been repaid.

He reached the outskirts of the village just as darkness had completely taken over the land. He was glad for the shelter of night, because he really didn't want to be subjected to the curious stares from the villagers as he carried Kikyo's body up to Kaede's hut.

A few minutes later he pushed his way through the mat hanging over the doorway, and stood before Kaede. She was still sitting at the fire, stirring her remedy in the black pot. She looked up at InuYasha and the pair exchanged a silent understanding.

"Is it done?" Kaede asked, and InuYasha heard her voice quivering and saw the tears forming in the bottoms of the old woman's eyes. He couldn't bear to look at her. It was bad enough that he had killed Kikyo with his own hands, he didn't need everyone getting emotional on him. Besides, Kaede had told him to do it.

"Yes," he said simply. Kaede swallowed hard and nodded. The tears evaporated from her eyes almost instantly, and she slowly stood up from her place in front of the fire.

"Lay her over there," Kaede said, pointing over to a table pushed against the left wall. InuYasha place Kikyo's body gently on the table, and as he did he noticed a large spot of blood staining the white cloth. He glanced down at his stomach, his wound was still bleeding pretty badly. He didn't care though, he had other things to do now that he had delivered Kikyo to Kaede. He had to get back to see Kagome, and he didn't care what state he was in. He had to see her now.

"Those wounds look serious, InuYasha, ye had best let me take a look," Kaede said as she took a once over of the hanyou. InuYasha shook his head and took a few steps away from the priestess.

"No, I'm fine," he assured her. "I've got to go see Kagome."

"Ye look dead on your feet, InuYasha," Kaede persisted. "I would be surprised if ye made it back to your hut without collapsing. Ye need some treatment."

"I'm tellin' you old woman, I'm fine," InuYasha argued through gritted teeth. "These wounds are nothin', just because you humans are weak doesn't mean…"

"All right InuYasha," Kaede said, repressing an eye roll. "Ye have made your point. Just don't say I didn't warn ye."

"Whatever," InuYasha grumbled as he limped his way through the door. He didn't want to admit it, but he had a feeling Kaede was right. He was already starting to feel lightheaded, and his legs were shaking under him violently. Still, he wouldn't let anything get in the way of going to see Kagome. He had to talk to her and clear the air. He had to tell her he had made his final decision.

As he neared the hut he shared with his friends he swooned and fell to his knees. All his limbs were starting to tremble, and he knew that he wouldn't make if much further before he finally lost consciousness. His desire to see Kagome was desperate, but he couldn't get to the well in his current condition, and even if he could make it there he was pretty sure he wouldn't be up to the journey through it.

He pulled himself to the doorway of the hut, his strength slowly draining out of him with each movement. He felt his claws slide against the floor of the hut and he managed to give one last mighty heave and pull himself into the company of his friends.

"InuYasha, what happened to you?" Shippo said anxiously as they all crowded around him.

"He needs treatment…Sango—" Miroku began, looking up at the demon slayer.

"I'm on it," she replied before he could say another word.

"Miroku…" InuYasha croaked, trying to pull himself further into the room, but the wound in his stomach seemed to widen at the seams as he attempted to move.

"Don't move InuYasha, just lay still," Miroku said calmly, trying to pacify his friend.

"Miroku…" InuYasha tried again, this time staying motionless. "I need to see Kagome…" Miroku smiled down at the hanyou and sidled over a bit. Though his eyes were starting to swell shut, InuYasha could make out the distinct form of Kagome leaning over him.

"K-Kagome…" he said in surprise, and despite all that had happened to him he felt an overwhelming sense of happiness spread through him.

"I'm here InuYasha," she said quietly, her voice was shaking and InuYasha thought he could see some tears sticking to her eyelashes. With this last image in his mind, his strength finally left him and his head dropped down onto Kagome's lap.


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: Yes! I have a four chapter update ready for your reading pleasure! I didn't think I was going to get one done on time, but I managed it. YES! So yeah, I'm trying to get the story done tonight, but 'things' keep on getting in the way. My night's basically been Hell on Earth: Part 675, I would give you details, but I'm not that cruel. Also, I just wanted to let everyone know that I came up with two other InuYasha fic ideas! I was so happy, because I love writing for this fandom, it has a great story and you all are so nice and supportive. So once this story is done I'm going to start working on a MirokuSango idea I have. Hope you enjoy the next few chapters, you all are awesome and I can't thank you enough for the reviews! They give me some shred of happiness when I'm dealing with nights like these (sigh). I'll try to get some more chapters up tonight. Keep your fingers crossed. Happy Reading!--Lothlome**

Chapter 37

"InuYasha!" Kagome exclaimed, and she felt the tears in her eyes fall down onto her chest. He couldn't leave her now, not after they had only just found each other again. She didn't know what she would do without him.

"Kagome, we should prepare him for when Kaede arrives," Miroku suggested, placing a hand on her shoulder in a comforting fashion. She nodded and blinked away the rest of her tears. There would be a time for mourning later; right now she had to focus all her energy on healing InuYasha. They carefully rolled InuYasha over onto his back, and then carried him over to a mat pushed up against the wall as gently as they could. He didn't stir once as they moved him, and this only served to increase Kagome's worries.

"Is he going to be all right?" Shippo asked, his blue eyes widening in concern as he looked over the hanyou.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Shippo," Miroku assured him, and he offered Kagome an encouraging smile. Kagome returned the gesture as well as she could, but she couldn't find much happiness within herself.

It was then that Kaede entered with Sango at her side.

"How is he?" Sango asked as she kneeled down beside Miroku.

"He hasn't stirred since you left," the monk replied.

"You will be able to save him, won't you Kaede?" Shippo asked the priestess anxiously, as she began laying out some healing supplies.

"It's hard to say…his wounds run mighty deep," she said pensively as she looked over the half-demon. Kagome felt her stomach tightening. They had to be able to save InuYasha, he had suffered worse before. What would make these wounds any more lethal than the time he had been on the receiving end of his own Wind Scar attack? Kagome bit her lip and stared down at InuYasha's darkening face. A fever was already starting to take hold of him, and even in sleep he looked like he was suffering a considerable amount of pain.

"Shippo…can you go get a bucket of cold water from the river?" Kagome asked, turning to the kitsune. He nodded with a determined look on his face.

"Of course," he said.

"Take Kirara with you," Sango suggested.

"We'll be back soon," Shippo assured them as the pair headed out the door. Kagome watched them leave and then turned her attention over to Kaede.

"What do you need me to do?" she demanded, her jaw set in a straight line. She was not going to let herself get distracted by anything else; she was going to save InuYasha no matter what. It didn't matter what had happened between them in the past, she was going to stay by his side at all costs. She couldn't imagine herself anywhere else.

"We'll need to mend the gash in his stomach, that's where most of his blood seems to be escaping," Kaede informed them. She glanced down at the supplies she had laid down before her, and picked up a thin, silver needle. "Warm this over the fire," she instructed as she handed it over to Kagome. The young girl nodded and headed over to the hearth without a single protest. She knew what Kaede was planning to do, and she could only imagine how painful a surgery would be without the medicines offered in her era, but this was the only way to save InuYasha.

"We've got the water!" Shippo announced as he re-entered the hut, struggling to carry the bucket full of cold spring water that was almost as large as himself. He set the tub beside Sango, and she dipped a cloth into the water and soaked it through. She placed the cloth on the hanyou's feverish forehead, hoping it would help to cool him down. Kaede, meanwhile, removed InuYasha's tattered haori and everyone was finally given a full view of his injuries. The old priestess said nothing as she continued to work, but the others all stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of InuYasha's bloodied form.

"It's a wonder he survived," Miroku said in awe. Almost all of InuYasha's torso was coated in a layer of congealed blood, and some of his wounds were beginning to ooze puss. Kagome stifled a cry in her throat. Sango cast a wary glance back at her friend, and then leaned towards Miroku and gave him a meaningful look. The monk nodded as they exchanged a silent understanding.

"The needle should be ready, Kagome," Kaede told her. Kagome rose from her place by the fire, the needle clamped tightly in a pair of tongs. The tip of the instrument was already glowing a faint orange, and Kagome could only imagine how painful it would be to have something that hot pressed against one's flesh.

Kaede took the needle from Kagome's tongs without even flinching, and quickly threaded a string through the needle's eye. Miroku and Sango drew away from the hanyou to give Kaede some room to work.

"Kagome…" Kaede called as she leaned over the half-demon. Kagome stepped forward from her place a few paces behind the demon slayer and Miroku. "I will require your assistance in this operation."

"All right," Kagome said, kneeling down beside Kaede.

"Perhaps it would be best if we waited outside," Sango said, looking at Shippo and Miroku.

"I agree Sango," Miroku said with a solemn nod. "We'll be right outside if you need our assistance," he told Kagome and the priestess, with that he and the others headed out the door, leaving Kagome and Kaede alone to tend to InuYasha.

"I need ye to hold him still while I sew his wound together, can ye do that?" Kaede asked her.

"Yes," Kagome said weakly, staring straight into InuYasha's pained face.

"Very well then," Kaede said, "let's begin." Kagome placed her hands on either one of InuYasha's shoulders, the fingers of her right hand mingling with the blood seeping out of one of his arrow wounds. She could see Kaede bring the needle down to InuYasha's skin out of the corner of her eye, and she clamped her eyes tightly shut just as it was about to enter his flesh. InuYasha made a sharp cry in his sleep, and tried to shift his position, but Kagome held him firm. He had to stay still or Kaede might end up injuring him even more.

Every time the needle passed through him InuYasha thrashed in his sleep, and with each stitch Kagome felt her teeth clenching and her eyes screwing up more and more. She could barely stand to listen to InuYasha screaming out, and holding him still became increasingly difficult. It seemed that hours had passed by before Kaede finally announced that she was done.

Kagome opened her eyes, and drew away from InuYasha slowly in relief. Her arms were shaking from the effort of keeping the hanyou still, and she felt like all of her strength had been drained out of her. She glanced over at InuYasha's face and saw that his expression had slackened slightly. He was going to be okay, the worst was over with now.

Kaede and Kagome wrapped a thick layer of bandages around his stitches, and then proceeded to tend the rest of his wounds. His fever was starting to come down, and his breathing had deepened, but he still had not woken up.

"Well, I believe InuYasha is safe for the night," Kaede said as she got to her feet. "I leave him in your care now, young Kagome. If ye have need of me, just call."

"I will," Kagome told her. Kaede collected her healing supplies in her arms, and shuffled out of the hut. Almost as soon as she was gone Miroku, Sango, and Shippo filed in anxiously.

"How's InuYasha?"

"Is he all right?"

"Kaede didn't say a word to us about his condition."

"Does he need anything?"

"Do you think he'll pull through?"

Kagome smiled at the barrage of questions. She could never put a price on her friends' loyalty.

"He's going to be all right," she told them, her voice more confident than she felt herself. "He just needs rest."

"Well that's good news," Sango said in relief. The party sat down around the fire, Kagome making sure she was right beside InuYasha.

"I wonder what happened to him," Miroku said thoughtfully as he stared into the fire's cackling flames.

"Who knows?" Sango said with a shrug. "It was probably a demon, if I had to make a guess."

"I suppose we won't find out until InuYasha awakens," Miroku sighed.

"I suppose," Sango agreed, and the pair cast a wary look over at their wounded companion.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The next morning after checking on InuYasha, Kagome headed outside to get some fresh air for awhile. She hated the thought of the half-demon waking up without her there, but everyone had said she looked extremely worn down. She was sure they were right, and she allowed herself to be talked into meandering about the fields for awhile.

She wished InuYasha would wake up. Her stomach had been contorting uncomfortably ever since he had passed out in her lap, and her heart felt as if it was weighted down by lead. She wondered if this was how he had felt when she was hurt. Did he feel as guilty as she did now?

Another thing was praying on Kagome's mind besides her increasing guilt. Why had InuYasha been injured in the first place? No one could come up with any ideas last night, and Kagome couldn't even begin to guess as to where he had been. Kagome sighed; she supposed she would just have to wait until InuYasha woke up and ask him herself.

"_Still, who knows when that's going to be,"_ she thought sadly. The wind picked up around the fields, and Kagome looked up at the village looming in the distance. She decided she would head over to Kaede's for awhile, maybe the priestess would have some ideas as to what happened to InuYasha.

Kagome entered Kaede's hut a few minutes later, and found the old priestess was busily preparing herbs and oils in front of the fire. She looked extremely tired and careworn, even more so than she had the previous night.

"Is everything all right, Kaede?" Kagome asked in concern, looking down at Kaede critically. The old woman's head shot up in surprise.

"Kagome, I didn't see ye there," she said nervously.

"Are you all right? You look tired," Kagome said as she kneeled down in front of the priestess, though she thought that was a bit of an understatement. She had never seen Kaede looking so disconcerted in her entire life. _"Something really weird is going on."_

"Ah yes, I'm fine," Kaede assured her as she got to her feet. "I've just been a little busy preparing for a funeral."

"A funeral?" Kagome said in horror, her mind immediately flicked to InuYasha lying helplessly in their hut. _"But that's impossible, he's fine, Kaede would have told us if there was no chance of saving him."_

"Yes," Kaede said gravely, and she couldn't help but cast a solemn glance over to the table on the other end of the room. Kagome followed her eyes, and saw that Kaede was looking over what appeared to be a body, covered in layers of white, bloodstained cloth. Kagome shuddered; she didn't want to know what the person might look like underneath the cloth.

"Is this…" she began as she stepped closer to the table, her face contorting in an expression of disgust.

"Yes," Kaede said quickly, and she hurried over to the table beside Kagome. "I urge ye not to remove the cloth, young Kagome, ye will not like what ye see." Kagome's head snapped around, and she looked at Kaede in confusion.

"But why--?" she began, but Kaede shook her head.

"Trust me, Kagome," the old priestess said, giving her a meaningful look. Kagome drew away from the table reluctantly, following Kaede back over to the fire. She helped the priestess prepare herbs and oils for the funeral to the best of her ability, but she found her attention frequently strayed to the body lying on the table. What was it that Kaede didn't want her to see? Did she think Kagome wouldn't be able to handle the sight of what had become of the person?

Kagome was broken from her thoughts as Kaede stood up from her place in front of the fire.

"I need to collect some more herbs, I'll be back in a few minutes," she told Kagome. "Just continue stirring that pot of oils, it needs to be completely smooth."

"Right," Kagome said, nodding down at the vat she was hovering over. Kaede cast one last wary glance over at Kagome before she departed. Kagome concentrated all of her attention on following Kaede's instructions, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop thinking about the body laying on the table just a few paces away. Despite all her efforts Kagome found herself walking over to the table, almost as if she was being drawn there by some other force. She felt her heartbeat quickening as she approached the body, and she stretched out her hand to pull back the cloth encasing it. _"What are you doing? Kaede told you that you wouldn't like what you'd see. Why are you going against her word?" _Yet even as she mentally chided herself she couldn't fight off the urge to see the person hidden beneath the cloth. Finally her fingers closed around the soft fabric and she drew it back, almost as if she was moving in slow motion. As the material fell back, Kagome's eyes widened in a mixture of horror and confusion, she had never expected to see this, not in a million years.

"Kikyo…" Kagome whispered as the miko's blank eyes stared up at her unblinkingly. Could this be real? Could the priestess actually be dead? It felt like Kagome stared into the Kikyo's pale face for an eternity when suddenly she heard the rustling of the bamboo mat hanging over the door.

Kagome took a few steps away from the table, and spun around to look into Kaede's face. The priestess looked cheerless, but not in the least surprised.

"Kaede I—" Kagome groped for an excuse, but it never came. She merely hung her head in defeat and felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Do not fret, young Kagome, I did not expect anything different," Kaede told her as she walked over to the table. "Ye were bound to find out sooner or later."

"Kaede, if you don't mind my asking…how did this happen?" Kagome asked apprehensively. She knew Kaede and Kikyo were sisters, and she was sure the old priestess was feeling some pain at losing her again; she didn't know how far she could push her luck. Kaede was silent for a long time, and Kagome was about to give up on getting an answer when finally the old priestess spoke out.

"InuYasha," she said gravely. Kagome's eyes widened and she felt her heart skip a beat. A million different questions were racing through her mind, but she couldn't make her mouth form one of them. Kaede said nothing and turned her attention to tending her sister, Kagome felt her knees buckle and she sank down to the floor.

"Kaede?" she asked after many minutes of silence, and her tongue was thick in her mouth. It was like she had lost the ability to move; her entire body felt numb with shock.

"Yes Kagome?" Kaede said curiously. Kagome swallowed to open her tightening throat and looked up at the priestess with shining eyes.

"Why?"


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

_A glittering arrow cut the air and landed in the ground before InuYasha's feet. The hanyou glanced up, and was met with the hard face of Kikyo, staring back at him with a look of utter loathing. _

_"Die InuYasha!" she shouted, fitting another arrow and letting it loose. InuYasha managed to dodge this one and it went whizzing only a few inches above his head. _

_"Kikyo stop this!" he yelled, trying to jar the miko out of her false reality. _

_"I will never stop, not until you are slain," she spat, fitting another arrow. "As long as you live I cannot be saved!" _

_"You don't belong to this world, Kikyo," InuYasha said as he dodged yet another arrow, this one didn't miss him entirely and ripped through his right arm. He stifled a cry and winced a bit as he felt blood rushing down to his wrist. _

_"Quiet!" Kikyo shouted, obviously not wanting to hear another word. "There is nothing you can say to change my mind." She sent an arrow flying, and this one stuck in InuYasha's left leg. The hanyou dropped to one knee and panted heavily. _

_"Kikyo listen to me…you can't keep wandering the earth like this," he argued desperately. "Let me help you escape, please…" Kikyo scoffed and drew back another arrow. _

_"I do not need your help," she told him coldly. InuYasha felt the arrow head enter his shoulder and he wavered on his feet. He wouldn't be able to stand this attack much longer. _

_"Yes…you do…" he said heavily as he pulled himself toward her, using his one good arm and uninjured leg to support his shaking frame. His claws dug into the grass, and the smell of gravesite dirt and clay almost intoxicated him as he came closer to the miko. _

_"What are you doing?" Kikyo said nervously, and she took a few staggering steps back as she reached for another arrow, only to find that she had run out. _

_"Repaying my debt…like I swore I would…" he grunted, a wry smirk gracing his face. _

_"I never asked for your help," Kikyo said, a knife now at his throat, and the priestess regained her old composure. _

_"You didn't have to," he told her. Kikyo's eyes seemed to harden even more at his words and InuYasha felt his strength leaving him. All his resolve was slowly draining out of him, and he knew he would never be able to finish Kikyo off. He was going to die. InuYasha's ears pricked up as he heard Kikyo laugh low in her throat. _

_"How foolish you are, InuYasha," she said with disdain. "Your fixation with me has caused you to forget about the other person you've 'sworn' to protect." At these words InuYasha managed to raise his head, and to his surprise he saw Kagome kneeling beside Kikyo, blood dripping from every wound Kikyo had given her that day the bear demons had attacked. _

_"Kagome…" InuYasha said, reaching out a hand to her, but his wounds caused him to draw back in pain. She slowly raised her head and looked straight into his eyes, tears streaking down her face. _

_"You didn't protect me," she said in a feeble voice, before she collapsed to the ground, and in his heart he could feel that she had left him forever. He tried to call out to her, but he found that he didn't have the strength to. Kikyo laughed again and the sound made the hairs on the back of InuYasha's neck stand up. _

_"Ah…the poor girl," she scoffed. "Not to worry though…she won't be alone for long." Kikyo pushed the knife even harder into InuYasha's throat and he felt small droplets of blood starting to well out of the sides of the tiny slit the knife had made. "Lovers should always die together. Don't you agree, InuYasha?" She turned the knife so that the edge of the blade was resting against his neck, and she drew across quickly and deeply. There was a blinding flash of white light, and InuYasha felt his insides screaming. _


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

InuYasha's eyes burst open, and he panted heavily as he tried to recover from his nightmare. He looked around in confusion for a moment, not recognizing where he was. After a few seconds of panic, he realized he was lying in the hut he and the others used while they stayed in the village. He was alone, except for Shippo sleeping peacefully near the fire. He tried to calm his breathing, and blinked a few times to clear his mind of his dream. It was bad enough that he had to kill Kikyo with his own hands, was he going to be haunted by the memory of his guilt every time he closed his eyes? If that was the case he thought he might never want to sleep again.

He tried to force himself into a sitting position, but the gash in his stomach was still tender and he couldn't make his aching body do anything more than flop back into his pillow. He wondered how long he had been lying there, and what state he had been in when the others found him. He could only remember snippets of what had occurred on the night he had returned to the village, but one thing he didn't forget was the fact that Kagome had come back. He didn't know how, but he found he didn't really care about the specifics. All that really mattered was that she was back, and now he could finally talk to her and tell her how he felt. He just hoped his stupid pride wouldn't get in the way.

Once again he tried to force himself up off his mattress, but he found it was a useless effort. He growled and clenched his fists. He hated being in this helpless state. How the hell was he supposed to find Kagome if he was bedridden?

"Hey…Shippo…" he hissed, hoping to jar the kitsune from sleep. Shippo slept on, not even stirring at the sound of InuYasha's voice. "Shippo!" InuYasha tried again, more loudly this time. Shippo's snoring cut off abruptly, and InuYasha felt his stomach rising hopefully, but then the young fox-demon merely turned on his side and went back to sleep. _"Oh come on!"_ InuYasha thought in annoyance. _"What does a guy have to do to get some assistance around here?" _He sighed heavily and glared up at the ceiling, as if it was responsible for all the injustice in the world.

InuYasha tried to wake Shippo up for the next half hour, but to no avail. If it hadn't been for the kitsune's light snoring InuYasha would have thought he was dead. He was extremely relieved when he heard the rustling of the doormat and Miroku entered. InuYasha had never been happier to see the houshi in his life.

"Great Miroku, you're back," he said triumphantly. Miroku started, and turned around to look down at the half-demon with wide eyes.

"InuYasha…you're awake," he said in pleasant surprise.

"Brilliant observation monk," InuYasha said with an eye roll.

"How are you feeling?" Miroku inquired conversationally as he sat down crossed legged beside his companion.

"Fine, now help me up," InuYasha said, struggling to get to his feet.

"What? InuYasha, you've only just recovered your strength, perhaps you should—" Miroku began, but InuYasha cut across him.

"I have to see Kagome, so are you going to help me or not?" he demanded. Miroku watched in amusement as InuYasha tried to use the wall as a means of anchoring himself, this tactic also proved fruitless, and he once again fell back onto his mat. He scowled and gave the wall a kick.

"Dammit!" he muttered.

"Relax, InuYasha, I'll help you, just as long as you promise to be careful," Miroku chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah whatever," InuYasha said boredly. "Can you just help me?" Miroku smirked and gripped InuYasha under the arms, helping the hanyou slowly rise to his feet. For a moment InuYasha wavered as he was set to his own support, but he quickly righted himself. He knew if he didn't act strong then Miroku would never let him out to search for Kagome, and he was desperate to talk to her.

"Where's Kagome?" he demanded as he limped his way over to the door.

"The last I saw of her she was down by the well," Miroku replied. At the mention of Bone Eater's well InuYasha felt his insides freeze. Was she already considering going home? It was too horrible an idea to think about. He had to reach her before she left him again.

"Right," he said gruffly, masking his insecurity with a façade of toughness. "I should be back before dark." Miroku merely nodded with a knowing smile and watched the hanyou walk out into the sunshine.


	41. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.**

**A/N: So, here it is, the final two chapters of the story. I have to say, I'm happy to be finished, but I'm a little sad too. I had so much fun working on this story, and you guys have been really supportive throughout the whole thing. I'm so happy that I decided to take a break from Harry Potter to do this. I just wanted to thank everyone who's reviewed one last time, you guys have no idea how much it means to me, and how much I appreciate it. You guys rock, and you helped me to make this story as good as it is, and you've inspired me to write two more InuYasha fanfictions! I owe you all so much! I hope you like the last two chapters. Happy Reading!--Lothlome**

Chapter 41

Kagome was sitting on the lip of the well, staring down at the grass and flowers beneath her feet. Kaede had told her all about InuYasha's decision to go after Kikyo, and she was still trying to drink the story in. She couldn't believe he had decided to kill her. She never thought InuYasha would ever do anything that drastic, not to someone he had loved.

"_It was the only way to save her though,"_ Kagome mused. _"InuYasha knew that, and that's why he went after her."_ Kagome couldn't help but feel proud of him. It had probably taken an extraordinary amount of will power to do something like that. She wondered what the encounter had done to him, besides nearly killing him. Was he going to be even more haunted by Kikyo's memory now that he had killed her himself, or was he finally free? She wished she could talk to him about what had happened, but she was sure it was going to be a sensitive subject.

She sighed heavily and watched a butterfly flutter across the tops of the flowers. It had been a trying past couple of days for all of them. She was just about to stand up and head back to the hut and check on InuYasha when she saw someone's shadow coming toward her. Kagome's head snapped up, and her eyes widened as she watched InuYasha limping toward her, trying his best to disguise his discomfort.

"InuYasha…" she whispered as he stopped in front of her.

"Kagome," he said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. She immediately felt a layer of tears form over her eyes, and she couldn't contain herself any longer. All the emotions she had been feeling over the past few days burst forth form her chest. She fell into InuYasha and gripped his haori tightly as she cried out all her pain and frustrations.

"I was so scared!" she sobbed. "I thought I was never going to see you again!" She continued to cry and InuYasha felt his face coloring. He knew Kagome was upset, but he had never expected her to react quite so emotionally. "I'm so glad you're all right," she continued. "That night you came back hurt…I didn't know what I was going to do if you…" Kagome's voice was lost in a fresh wave of tears, and InuYasha felt his face burning even more. He really hated when Kagome cried, for one thing it made him uncomfortable, but more than that it pained him to see her so upset. She didn't deserve that kind of torture.

"Come on now, I made it out all right," he said in an effort to get her to stop.

"I know," Kagome whispered, finally releasing his haori and sinking down into the grass, "but I was still scared anyway." She wiped her eyes and tried to clear away the rest of her tears. InuYasha sat down beside her, glad to be off his feet. His wounds were still too raw for him to be doing a lot of moving.

InuYasha took a deep breath and looked at Kagome seriously. He had to explain everything that happened, before she remembered how mad at him she was and decided to go home to the modern era.

"Listen Kagome…I need to talk to you about some things," he told her. Where was he even going to begin? He had no training in this type of thing. _"I knew I should have gotten some advice from Miroku,"_ he thought in frustration.

"That's all right InuYasha," Kagome said softly with a kind smile, placing her hand over his. "I already know about what happened with Kikyo." InuYasha balked and he tried his best to keep himself calm, which proved to be more difficult than he anticipated.

"Y-you do?" he stammered. She nodded.

"Yes…Kaede told me everything this afternoon," she explained.

"Oh," he said softly, staring down into his lap. _"What must she think of me?"_ He had wanted to tell Kagome about the situation himself, explain to her why he had done what he did. It was important to him that she understood his reasons, but now he doubted his words would reach her. Her opinion of him was probably already set. "You think I'm a monster…don't you?" he said, looking away from her, clearly disgusted with himself. Kagome looked at him sympathetically.

"No," she told him, and he was surprised to feel her arms wrap around his neck, "I think you're a hero." InuYasha sighed in contentment and buried his face in Kagome's soft black hair. He breathed in her sweet smelling scent, and lost himself in the warmth of her embrace. Kagome's words had meant everything in the world to him. She understood his reasons without being told. He couldn't ask for more.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The next day Kikyo's body was laid out on a funeral pyre. Kaede had dressed her sister in traditional clothes, befitting of a miko. Her eyes had finally been closed, and she looked rather peaceful lying there on her pyre. InuYasha was the one to light the fire, his face hard and stoical. Kagome stood by his side the entire time, knowing that he needed her comfort now more than ever.

Kikyo's procession was small and quiet, consisting only of Kaede, InuYasha, Kagome, and the others. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo had learned of Kikyo's fate from Kagome, and they dared not ask for an account of the incident from InuYasha himself. They knew the fact that he had gone through with the act once was enough, he didn't need to relive it.

They watched the flames licking up around Kikyo silently; all lost in their own private thoughts. No one had thought this day would come, the day Kikyo was finally returned to the world she belonged in. The whole thing seemed unreal, like a strange dream that they would soon awaken from. InuYasha knew it wasn't a dream though, he had seen the souls fly out of Kikyo's body; he knew she was not coming back.

After Kikyo's pyre had burned completely to the ground they gathered the ashes in a pot and carried them down to the river. They would not take a chance of another demon defiling Kikyo's resting place, and the only way they could think to protect her remains was by spreading them throughout the river, and letting them mix with the swirling blue currents.

"It is done," Kaede said finally, as the last of Kikyo's ashes was sprinkled into the water. "Kikyo can finally rest in peace."

"_It's all over,"_ InuYasha thought as he walked through the forest a few hours later. _"I'll never be tormented by Kikyo again." _He had never felt such a strange mixture of remorse and relief. He was so glad to be free…free to do whatever he wished. He wasn't bound to Kikyo any longer; he had repaid his debt in full. He just wished he didn't feel so guilty about everything. He supposed he would just have to get used to the feeling, but emotional pain wasn't something he wasn't used to.

"InuYasha!" He turned around and watched as Kagome approached him where he sat on the hill. "I thought I'd find you here," she said as she sat down beside him. She didn't sound happy, but she still had a smile on her face. InuYasha knew she was trying so hard to lift his spirits, but he didn't think he could feel happy at the moment.

"How are the others?" he asked, it was all he could think to say.

"Fine, they're resting right now. It's been a long day for everyone," she replied. InuYasha gave a hollow laugh.

"They're not hiding from me, are they?" Kagome furrowed her brow in confusion.

"No…why would they be?" she demanded.

"Because they're afraid…and I don't blame them," he said bitterly. "How do they know I won't do to them what I did to Kikyo?" Kagome sighed heavily, and the last traces of her smile fell from her face. She wished InuYasha would stop beating himself up over this. It wasn't his fault, he had to kill Kikyo, he had no other choice.

"You didn't kill her because you wanted to," she countered. "You did what you had to do."

"I guess," he said morosely, still staring intently out at the fields ahead of him. Obviously he didn't take much stock in Kagome's words.

"_I suppose it's just going to take him some time to get over this,"_ she thought reasonably. _"You don't exactly bounce back from killing someone you used to love."_ She pressed her cheek against InuYasha's shoulder, she wished there was some way she could make him feel better, but she had a feeling he wasn't in the mood to be comforted.

"Why did you come back, Kagome?" he asked her quietly. Kagome's eyes widened and she sat up.

"What do you mean?" she demanded.

"Why did you come back to the Feudal Era?" he clarified. "I thought you hated me."

"What? InuYasha I could never hate you," she assured him. He smiled wryly.

"Don't lie, I'm sure you're tired of dealing with me…after everything I've done," he said sadly.

"Sure, we fight sometimes, but that's just how we are," Kagome reasoned. "I'd never hate you over some silly argument."

"So…why did you come back?" he asked again, reminding her about what they had been talking about in the first place.

"I dunno…" Kagome said, her face flushing. "I guess it's just hard to stay away from the person you love." InuYasha felt as if his stomach had been thrown out of his torso. He turned his head sharply, and looked at Kagome with wide eyes, all of his former unhappiness forgotten. Kagome's face was burning crimson, and she was trying desperately to avoid the hanyou's gaze.

"Y-you…uh…the person you…" InuYasha continued to stutter incoherently for the next few minutes, and Kagome felt the blush on her face growing deeper and deeper. She knew she shouldn't have said that, InuYasha never took that kind of thing the right way.

"Uh…you know what, forget I ever said that," she said with a nervous chuckle in an effort to pass the situation off lightly. "I don't know what I was talking about." She started to get up, but InuYasha grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

"Kagome wait," he said, and Kagome was surprised by the look he was giving her.

"_That's how he used to look when he was thinking about Kikyo,"_ she remembered suddenly. _"So why's he—"_ Kagome's thoughts were interrupted as InuYasha moved toward her and pressed his lips gently against hers. Her eyes widened for a moment, but they slowly fell closed as she relaxed and leaned into InuYasha's embrace.

"YES FINALLY!" Both InuYasha and Kagome broke away from each other abruptly and spun around to look at the bushes from where the cry had originated.

"Nice going Miroku," Sango muttered, glaring over at the monk.

"Yeah, way to ruin the moment," Shippo added. Miroku chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. InuYasha glared at his three friends and clenched his fists. He was going to kill them. _"Stupid hentai monk, I bet this was all his doing. Leave it to him to ruin my life."_

"Uh…is there a reason you guys were spying on us?" Kagome asked, sounding both amused and exasperated. Her cheeks were glowing crimson, but she had a smile on her face. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo all exchanged guilty looks and tried their best to avoid the gazes of InuYasha and Kagome.

"InuYasha…Kagome…there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this, I can assure you—" Miroku began, but a growl from InuYasha quickly silenced him.

"You are dead houshi!" he yelled, lunging for Miroku, but Kagome held him back.

"InuYasha…maybe we should just let it slide for once," she suggested quietly.

"What?" he demanded, looking over at her. "Do you realize what they were—talk about an invasion of privacy!"

"Now, now InuYasha, perhaps Kagome has a point," Miroku argued, thoroughly relieved to have avoided an ass kicking from the hanyou. "Aren't there other things you'd rather be concentrating your energy on at the moment?" Miroku gave the half-demon a suggestive grin and a pointed eyebrow raise. InuYasha balked and his face tinged a dark shade of red.

"Uh…" he stammered and he felt like someone had just crushed his stomach with their hand. He cast a quick glance over at Kagome, who was conveniently staring in the opposite direction.

"Well?" Miroku asked, still smiling like an idiot. InuYasha wanted to rip his stupid face off. He hated when Miroku did this to him, using his perverted little mind tricks. _"Damn hentai,"_ InuYasha thought in annoyance.

"Miroku—" InuYasha began, once again stepping forward to give the monk a bonk on the head, but after casting another glance over at Kagome he stopped in his tracks. "—go away."

"What?" Sango and Kagome said in surprise, both of them looking over at InuYasha in confusion.

"You're letting him off that easily?" Shippo demanded.

"Well, if you'd prefer that I kicked your ass…" InuYasha folded his hands in the sleeves of his haori and looked in the opposite direction, trying his best to hide a smirk.

"No, no, that's fine," Miroku said quickly, jumping up from his hiding place, dragging both Sango and Shippo up with him. "Come along you two."

"See you later Kagome," Sango said, offering her friend a knowing smile. Kagome smiled back as her cheeks flushed pink.

"Don't do anything Miroku wouldn't do, InuYasha!" Shippo called with a chuckle. InuYasha growled but said nothing. He supposed he could let the little runt get away with it for once.

"InuYasha…" Kagome said softly, and he turned around to see her looking at him with a smile on her face. "Let's go for a walk," she suggested. He grinned and took her outstretched hand. He wondered exactly what it was that Miroku wouldn't do, and how far he could push it before he got there.

--The End--

**A/N: So that's the end, I hope you guys liked the story. I just wanted to take this small opportunity to let everyone know that I am starting work on my MirokuSango story, it's going to be called Things Left Unsaid. It's kind of going to be a 'spin-off' of this one, I use the term loosely though. I hope some of you like me enough to check it out. Well, that's about it, thanks again for all the kind reviews and support. Happy Reading!--Lothlome :)**


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